Tag: Michael Chandler

Benson Henderson believes he will finish Michael Chandler at Bellator 244 on June 6.

The two first met at Bellator 165 where Chandler edged out a split-decision to defend his lightweight strap. The two were then supposed to fight at Bellator Japan but Henderson had to pull out. Now, in the main event of Bellator 244, Henderson knows he will have a much better performance after dealing with a torn ACL last time.

“My last fight against Chandler, I fought with a torn ACL,” Henderson told MMA Junkie. “I had a torn ACL, torn MCL, two torn meniscus and I still decided to fight anyways. Probably not the best decision. So for this one, I was like ‘yeah, maybe I should be healthy.’ You’re never like one-hundred percent, you always have nicks and bruises but fighting with a torn ACL, fighting with a broken bone, probably wouldn’t have been a smart thing to do.”

Entering this fight, Scott Coker has said it is a title eliminator and Henderson knows he will be the one getting his hand raised. He also expects to finish Chandler.

“Chandler, he can get it as many times as he wants to,” Henderson said. “If he wants to fight 10 times, that’s no problem but I’m going to win nine of those 10 times. He got the first one, they gave it to him as a split decision. The next nine, I’ll be putting him away. I’ll be finishing him, looking for submissions, looking for the knockout. His chin’s not the same as it was earlier in his career.

“Earlier in his career, he was known as throwing hard, and having a good chin and this and that. Now he doesn’t throw quite as hard. Now his chin is a little more suspect and he relies on his wrestling a lot more in his later fights and I don’t think he’ll be able to rely on that against me, outwrestling me in our next fight.”

Do you think Benson Henderson will finish Michael Chandler?