Henderson takes pride in being Bellator's ultimate company man
Heading into just the second fight of his Bellator MMA tenure, Benson Henderson is letting the promotion know they can count on him.
Henderson meets former featherweight champ Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the main event of Bellator 160 on Friday in Anaheim, Calif. The bout will be contested at 155 pounds, the weight class that Henderson once reigned over as a UFC titleholder.
He was on a two-fight win streak when he signed with Bellator earlier this year, but dropped a unanimous decision in an attempt to wrest the 170-pound belt away from Andrey Koreshkov in April. Despite the loss, Henderson plans to stick to his strategy of fighting anyone, anywhere, regardless of the circumstances.
"I'm a company man, that's one of the reasons Bellator signed me. Bellator knew that signing me they get somebody who is willing to fight at 155, 170," Henderson told theScore. "Five-round fight, one-week notice? Sure, no problem, let's do it. I'll give you five rounds, hard."
Prior to making the jump to Bellator, Henderson put together a memorable run in the WEC and UFC that included five-round wars with Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, and Anthony Pettis. It's that eagerness to seek out the best competition that has made him a name in the world of MMA, but he's not going to use that reputation to get what he wants.
Case in point, he passed up on waiting for lightweight champion Michael Chandler in lieu of a meeting with Pitbull.
"They asked me before the Chandler-(Patricky Freire) fight if I wanted to take on the winner, but then the way fights go, Chandler had the broken hand so Mike Kogan the head matchmaker for Bellator told me, 'Chandler has a broken hand, we just got the X-ray from it, he's going to be out for a little while. Do you want to fight right away or do you want to wait for that title shot?'
"I chuckled, 'Come on Mike, you know the answer to that. You know what I'm going to say.'"
And so Henderson finds himself in a presumed no. 1 contender's match opposite Patricio Freire. Should he win and put the wheels in motion for a lightweight title clash with Chandler, he still envisions a return to 170 for a shot at a second belt. Whenever Bellator calls for it, he'll be ready.
"I still intend on doing both," said Henderson. "I think the Koreshkov fight, he beat my butt, he was the better man that night, he did what he needed to do. He was a smart fighter, a technical fighter, he had a physical skill set that was hard to deal with.
"But I have no doubt in my mind that I am as confident a fighter as anybody on the planet right now. My confidence doesn't waver from that. He had a better night that night. If we were to face off tomorrow, five rounds, 170, would I take it? Absolutely. Would I expect my hand to be raised? Abso-friggin'-lutely."