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Ex-UFC champion Benson Henderson wins boxing debut, hands Nate Diaz teammate Chris Avila his first loss

Ex-UFC champion Benson Henderson wins boxing debut, hands Nate Diaz teammate Chris Avila his first loss - MF & DAZN: X Series 18 Highlights Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson went 10 rounds against two different opponents in his pro boxing debut on…

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson went 10 rounds against two different opponents in his pro boxing debut on Saturday night in Newcastle, England.

After dominating the MMA scene for more than a decade, ‘Smooth’ traded in his four-ounce gloves for a pair of 10-ouncers as the Colorado Springs native looked to take home two wins and become the Pro Stake Tournament champion at the MF & DAZN: X Series 18 event on Saturday.

First up was a scrap with Chris Avila, an undefeated boxer best known for his affiliation with Stockton’s own Nate Diaz.

Avila came out strong, taking the center of the ring and pressuring Henderson into the corner, but it was ‘Smooth’ who appeared to have the upper hand early, landing some big shots and more than holding his own against the more experienced boxer. Henderson ramped up the aggressiveness in the second and seemingly took the first two rounds, though his striking began to look a bit sloppy as the fight grew longer.

Henderson’s suffocating style continued in the third with him walking down Avila, showing the former MMA fight zero respect. Avila offered some nice work to the body of Henderson, but the fight slowly began to slip away from the Stockton native. It was more of the same in the fourth and fifth rounds with ‘Smooth’ dominating the action and leaving no room for Avila to catch his breath and look for the knockout shot he desperately needed.

By the time the final bell sounded, it was clear that Henderson would see his hand raised, handing Avila the first loss of his boxing career.

Official Result: Benson Henderson def. Chris Avila via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

With the win, ‘Smooth’ moved on to a clash with Idris Virgo. ‘The Bodybreaker’ punched his ticket to the Pro Stake Tournament finals earlier in the evening with a big first-round KO against Mohammed Faisal.

Benson Henderson comes up short in pro stake tournament final

Returning to the ring a few hours later for their tournament final, Virgo flew out of his corner and immediately looked to land a booming right hand against the former UFC champion. Virgo’s pressure kept ‘Smooth’ backpedaling early, but was unable to land the knockout blow he was desperately looking for.

The second and third rounds saw both fighters continue to slug it out. Virgo landed the more impactful strikes while Henderson attempted to trap his opponent against the rope, emulating a game plan he perfectly executed multiple times throughout his mixed martial arts career. That decision proved successful, particularly in the fifth round where Virgo’s offense was largely stifled by the unending pressure of Henderson.

With 10 seconds left to go, Virgo and Henderson decided to slug it out, but neither was able to put the other away, sending us to the scorecards.

Official Result: Idris Virgo def. Benson Henderson via unanimous decision (49-47, 48-47, 48-46)

Former UFC Champion Benson Henderson Set For Misfits Boxing Debut

The next step in Benson Henderson’s career post-mixed martial arts is set, as the former UFC champion has been booked for his boxing debut. Henderson held the lightweight title on MMA’s biggest stage between 2012 and 2013. He sits alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and BJ Penn as one of four record holders for the […]

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Benson Henderson Set For Misfits Boxing Debut at MMA News.

The next step in Benson Henderson’s career post-mixed martial arts is set, as the former UFC champion has been booked for his boxing debut.

Henderson held the lightweight title on MMA’s biggest stage between 2012 and 2013. He sits alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and BJ Penn as one of four record holders for the most consecutive defenses in the division.

After his UFC stint came to an end, “Smooth” continued under the Bellator banner, challenging for gold unsuccessfully on three occasions. The most recent came in defeat against Usman Nurmagomedov in March 2023, marking his final outing in the cage.

Like many, Henderson’s MMA retirement hasn’t completely brought his combat sports story to an end. Last December, the 40-year-old debuted in the Karate Combat Pit, outpointing his fellow former UFC champ Anthony Pettis.

And Henderson is now set to dip his toes into yet another sport…

Henderson Meets Fellow UFC Vet Chris Avila In Misfits Tournament

It was announced this week that Henderson will feature on the latest card for Misfits Boxing, a crossover boxing promotion founded by English YouTube star and celebrity pugilist KSI.

To date, the likes of Logan Paul, Dillon Danis, Tommy Fury, Paige VanZant, Le’Veon Bell, and Anthony Taylor are among those who have competed at the events.

Misfits Boxing 18, set for the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England on September 14, will see Henderson added to that list. He’s slated to do battle with another ex-UFC and Bellator fighter, Nate Diaz protégé Chris Avila.

The pair’s contest will serve as one of two light heavyweight semifinals making up a one-night tournament. In the other, Idris Virgo is set to throw down with Fes Batista, with the two winners meeting later on to crown the champion.

The main event of the influencer card will see Elle Brooke defend her MFB middleweight title against BKFC veteran Jenny Savage. The Brit was originally expected to run it back with VanZant following their draw earlier this year, but that hasn’t come to fruition.

Read More: ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’ Hailey Welch Trains MMA At Renzo Gracie LA Ahead Of Potential Combat Sports Venture: ‘Jon Jones, Where You At Motherf**ker?’

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Benson Henderson Set For Misfits Boxing Debut at MMA News.

Exclusive – Anthony Pettis says Benson Henderson will have ‘Everything to Prove’ in Karate Combat clash

Anthony Pettis will look to complete the trifecta against longtime rival Benson Henderson on December 15. After competing for…

Anthony Pettis will look to complete the trifecta against longtime rival Benson Henderson on December 15.

After competing for titles under the WEC and UFC banners, ‘Showtime’ and ‘Smooth’ will headline Karate Combat 43, completing their trilogy inside The Pit. With only two weeks to go until fight night, Anthony Pettis sat down with Danny Podolsky in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview to preview his third meeting with Henderson.

During their conversation, ‘Showtime’ revealed that he was training for a return to the boxing ring when he got the call to make his Karate Combat debut.

“I was actually getting ready for another boxing fight set up for February and I got the phone call,” Pettis said. “The opportunity popped up in my new hometown, Las Vegas, Nevada, against a guy that I have a lot of history with so I couldn’t pass this one up.”

Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson have fought on two separate occasions, the first coming at WEC 53 with the promotion’s lightweight title on the line. After five intense rounds of action, Pettis scored a unanimous decision victory, but not before landing one of the greatest highlights in MMA history, the legendary ‘Showtime’ kick.

Pettis and Henderson would run it back three years later. This time, the UFC lightweight championship would be up for grabs. ‘Showtime’ went two-up on ‘Smooth’ with a first-round submission via arm bar.

Going into their clash at KC43, Pettis believes all the pressure will be on Henderson to finally break through and score a win in their iconic rivalry.

“He has everything to prove,” Pettis said. “He has to go out there and defend those losses. Our first fight was super close. It was a striking match for the first round. The second round was grappling. Third round we went back to striking, fourth round back to grappling. The fifth round ended up as a striking matchup and that’s where that ‘Showtime’ kick came from.

“The second fight, I just went out there and blasted him with body kicks and caught that armbar so he’s coming off of two losses [against me], but I have nothing, but respect for Ben as an athlete. He’s done some amazing things in the sport. He’s a super competitive guy. He’s still competing at high levels, but as a competitor, I’m gonna go out there and try to take his head off.”

Anthony Pettis is gunning for a KO against ‘Smooth’

With victories over Ben Henderson by submission and decision, ‘Showtime’ will be gunning for a knockout to complete his trifecta.

“This favors the knockout,” Pettis said. “Even though you can go to the ground and do ground and pound, you can still get a TKO, but this favors me getting the knockout. In MMA, Ben has great wrestling and great jiu-jitsu. I already knew that so I had to dumb my striking down a lot. I could throw a lot of flashy moves. I mean, the ‘Showtime’ kick was flashy, but it was at the end of the fight. I kept it super basic.

“I was throwing high kicks. I had to keep that low guard for the takedown and then he would put me on the cage a lot and use that grappling on the cage. That’s non-existent in this fight so I feel like it favors a knockout for sure. I’m not gonna go out there and force anything. I’m gonna go out there and have some fun. Be playful and use my karate stance.

“When I fight traditional martial arts, I fight right leg forward. In MMA I fought right leg back just because of the takedowns and the power side. This time you’ll see a mixture of both. I’m gonna go out there orthodox and southpaw. I’m gonna go out there and be playful.”

Karate Combat 43 will air live and for free on the promotion’s YouTube channel and via CBS Sports in North America.

Watch the full exclusive interview below:

Exclusive – Anthony Pettis Dubs BJ Penn Greatest Lightweight of all Time, Lists His Top-Five GOATs at 155

When it comes to listing the greatest lightweights in MMA history, Anthony Pettis believes former two-division champion BJ Penn…

When it comes to listing the greatest lightweights in MMA history, Anthony Pettis believes former two-division champion BJ Penn belongs at the top.

On December 15, ‘Showtime’ will return to action when he makes his highly anticipated debut for Karate Combat. But first, the former WEC and UFC lightweight world champion sat down with Danny Podolsky in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview the discuss the past and the present of the loaded 155-pound division.

First up was Pettis’ thoughts on reigning UFC lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev. Coming off of back-to-back wins over 145-pound champ Alexander Volkanovski in 2023, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ has earned himself a lot of fans, but Pettis believes he has some serious work to do before he can be seen as one of the greatest lightweights of all time.

“He still has some work to do,” Pettis said. “He just beat Volkanovski and Volkanovski is a great fighter, but he’s not a lightweight. He doesn’t have any wins against a top-10 lightweight, so I think once he can prove himself… He’s a tremendous fighter, but he still has some work to do. That’s the hard thing. Once you get to the top, things change. You got sponsors pulling you. You got events, promotions, and a lot of other options besides training.

“Seeing how he can balance that and see when he fights and how dominant he is, that’s when we’ll see how great he can be.”

Anthony Pettis Names his top-five lightweight GOATS

So if Islam Makhachev hasn’t earned his spot on the list of lightweight GOATs, who has? Asked for his top five greatest 155’ers of all time, Anthony Pettis kicked off his list with an undisputed pioneer of the sport.

“Gotta go BJ Penn,’ Pettis said. “I mean, BJ Penn is a pioneer of the whole thing. Without BJ, none of this would even be possible.

While many people like to point at Penn’s history-making seven straight losses before retiring from MMA in 2019, ‘The Prodigy’ was one of the most dominant forces in combat sports during his heyday. Penn engaged in a series of iconic fights with the likes of Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes, Lyoto Machida, Georges St-Pierre, Jens Pulver, Frankie Edgar, Nick Diaz, and Rory MacDonald. Along the way, he captured both the lightweight and welterweight world titles and still holds the record for the most title fights in 155-pound division history.

Rounding out his list, Pettis looked towards a couple of familiar foes and an undefeated UFC Hall of Famer.

“Ben Henderson’s also in my top-five as well,” Pettis continued. “You gotta go with Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. He’s definitely on there. A dominant guy who never lost. Dustin Poirier is another guy that’s on my top-five list, and then I would say myself.

Pettis and Henderson are no strangers to one another, having competed for championship gold on two separate occasions. The first came at WEC 53 in December 2010 when Pettis landed his infamous ‘Showtime’ kick in the closing seconds of their scrap. Pettis walked away with the WEC lightweight title via a unanimous decision.

Three years later, they would meet with UFC gold on the line. Again, Pettis came out on top, securing a first-round armbar submission with 29 seconds left in the opening round.

A decade later, Pettis and Henderson will complete their trilogy when both men make their debuts inside The Pit at Karate Combat 43.

Watch the full exclusive interview below:

Ex-UFC Champions Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson to Complete Trilogy at Karate Combat 43

Former UFC champions Benson Henderson and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis will complete their trilogy, but this time, the two human…

Former UFC champions Benson Henderson and Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis will complete their trilogy, but this time, the two human highlight reels will face-off under the Karate Combat banner.

Per a report from MMA Fighting, the long-awaited threequel will go down at 170-pounds and will headline Karate Combat 43 on December 15 at the Expo at World Trade Market in Las Vegas. Both fighters are said to have verbally agreed to the matchup which will come more than a decade removed from their last clash at UFC 164.

Anthony Pettis enters the bout with a career record of 25-15, including two wins over Benson Henderson, the first coming under the WEC banner in 2010. Three years later, they would meet again inside the Octagon with the UFC lightweight title on the line. Showtime’ scored a first-round submission via armbar to go two-up on Henderson.

Pettis closed out his career with the UFC in 2019, earning wins over Charles Oliveira, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Gilbert Melendez, Jim Miller, and Michael Chiesa along the way.

“I am excited to announce my next endeavor with the Karate Combat family,” Pettis said. “I am returning to my traditional martial arts roots for this one. I am the most complete and exciting striker in martial arts and I will show the world where my expertise in MMA comes from. I want to help grow this sport and I can’t wait to put on a show for this organization. It’s Showtime!”

In April, Pettis earned a majority decision against legendary pugilist Roy Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4 after going 1-4 competing inside the PFL Smart Cage.

After amassing an impressive 11-3 record with the UFC, including wins over Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson signed on the dotted line with Bellator MMA in 2019. ‘Smooth’ would go 7-7 with the promotion, completing his contract in March following a first-round defeat at the hands of lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Following the announcement, Asim Zaidi, the new president of Karate Combat, added, “I wanted to start off by gifting the combat sports community with an epic fight featuring two former UFC champions free on YouTube.”

The promotion is also said to be in talks with former UFC champions Jose Aldo, Luke Rockhold, and Lyoto Machida for potential matches in the pit, as well as high-profile free agents Michael ‘Venom’ Page and Darren Till.

UFC alum Benson Henderson admits to fighting with toothpick in mouth, reveals he swallowed it accidentally

Retired MMA star Benson Henderson revealed that he fought with a toothpick in his mouth during a number of his fights. In an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour last month, Henderson shared how he managed to fight with a toothpick inside the octagon. “For a lot of fights, I had the toothpick, […]

Retired MMA star Benson Henderson revealed that he fought with a toothpick in his mouth during a number of his fights.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour last month, Henderson shared how he managed to fight with a toothpick inside the octagon.

“For a lot of fights, I had the toothpick, yeah,” Henderson said. “For a lot of fights. It was just a bad habit. I would literally, like, go out to lunch or dinner or breakfast, whatever — you know, you have the toothpicks from the restaurant. I would just forget I have it in, I would practice, I would do whatever. I’d leave it in for fights.”

Henderson revealed his toothpick habit led to an accidental injury.

“I’d graduated college, and then I went home to surprise my mom,” Henderson said. “I surprised her when she was coming down the stairs, and I had a toothpick in like I always do, and I was a little bit older. I was mature enough to realize how dumb that was, how not smart that was, how crazy that was. But I scared her — and I swallowed my toothpick. (h/t MMA Fighting)

Benson Henderson Retired at Bellator 292

Henderson, a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, announced his retirement from MMA at Bellator 292, where he failed to capture the 155-pound title from Usman Nurmagomedov.

“I told myself if I lose any of [my] last four fights then it’s about that time,” Henderson said post-fight at Bellator 292. “I’ve had a nice long run, I’ve done a lot of great things [and] was able to do a lot of amazing accomplishments.”

During his career, Henderson (30-12) fought multiple MMA stars, including Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, Frankie Edgar, Michael Chandler and Donald Cerrone, to name a very select few. The Colorado Springs, Colorado native defended the WEC and UFC lightweight titles once and three times, respectively.

After a five-year stint with the UFC, Henderson signed with Bellator MMA in February 2016 and went 7-7 in 14 fights. The former title challenger competed for Bellator gold three times against Nurmagomedov, Chandler and Andrey Koreshkov.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was ESPN’s 2012 MMA Fighter of The Year. He earned three UFC Fight of The Night bonuses.