According to MMAJunkie, Benson Henderson believes he has what it takes to surpass the records set by UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Henderson stated:
“I don’t think me beating Frankie gets me anywhere near the conversation. I’d have to beat Frankie and beat a couple of other guys and defend the belt – what is Anderson up to? He’s up to 12 right now? Thirteen? So after I beat whatever Anderson’s record is – whatever he stops at, 14 times, 15 times, after I beat that – then the conversation is going to begin.
“I want to be the best fighter, period,” he said. “That goal is still in my sights. I still wake up thinking about that.
“I definitely have long-term goals (and) short-term goals, but that’s been my goal since I first got into fighting – to be the best fighter on the planet,” Henderson said during a media teleconference in support of UFC 144. “No ifs, ands or buts about it.”
Silva is currently riding a 14-fight winning streak in the UFC, 15 in all MMA competitions, and to boot has defended his crown a record nine times—a feat that he achieved in less than six years.
For Henderson to accomplish those goals, his first port of call has to be the unseating of lightweight titlist Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 144 this weekend. If successful, his next step would be to keep said belt intact whilst compiling a respectable streak of wins, which is no mean feat, given the 155-lb division is stacked with talent.
At present, the former WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) champion is 3-0 in the Zuffa-based organization. In that respect, Henderson has some way to go if he’s to emulate or better the records set thus far by “The Spider.”
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