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Benson Henderson has no regrets about his MMA profession coming to an finish.
After 17 years, the previous WEC and UFC champion light-weight champion announced his retirement this previous Friday following a title loss to Bellator champ Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292. In the long run, Henderson stayed true to his phrase. After re-upping with Bellator on a brand new four-fight contract in March 2022, the 39-year-old vowed that he’d grasp up his gloves following his subsequent loss. Now that it’s completed, he’s comfy together with his resolution.
“It’s about that point,” Henderson mentioned Monday on The MMA Hour. “About that point.
“I went into the final couple of fights figuring out that I used to be nearing the top of my profession. I had way more of an appreciation for every part — for speaking to the media, for doing interviews, for the stroll and all that stuff. However going into the struggle on Friday evening, I felt fairly assured, like I used to be going to depart that cage with a belt round my waist.
“So I used to be glad, I used to be excited, lastly it’s right here, lastly it’s my time to lastly get that third belt. I promised my spouse a 3rd belt so I used to be going to get her third belt. So I used to be excited, I used to be glad, I used to be able to go, I used to be within the zone. It simply was not my evening. Usman bought me.”
Henderson exits MMA together with his legacy safe as one of many nice lightweights of his period. His three defenses of the UFC light-weight title from 2012-13 stays tied with B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar, and Khabib Nurmagomedov for probably the most ever within the promotion’s historical past. His WEC championship run contains two Combat of the Yr winners for his 2009 battle towards Donald Cerrone in addition to his 2010 battle towards Anthony Pettis, and his total résumé at 155 kilos contains wins over the likes of Cerrone (x2), Edgar (x2), Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, Patricio Pitbull, Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, and lots of extra.
All in all, not dangerous for a self-described “skinny geek” who in his youthful days might’ve by no means anticipated the path his life in the end took.
“By no means, not even shut — I pictured none of this in any respect,” Henderson mentioned. “Like, I used to be by no means Billy Badass, Terry Toughnuts in class. I used to be by no means like, ‘Oh, that child’s going to be a fighter. He’s tremendous robust. He’s actually good.’ I used to be by no means the quickest, by no means the strongest, by no means the perfect, by no means probably the most spectacular, by no means the Terry Toughnuts man strolling round.
“I used to be simply the thin geek who was fairly good wrestling who simply wouldn’t cease — after which that become this.”
Henderson, who co-owns The MMA Lab in Phoenix alongside his longtime coach John Crouch, admitted Monday that he was blown away by all of the phrases of affection and assist he acquired from throughout the MMA world as soon as he determined to make his resolution official.
“I might say [there were] extra tears studying all of the textual content messages,” Henderson mentioned. “I bought 1,000 textual content messages, studying all of the messages on-line. I do all my on-line stuff an excessive amount of, I peruse on-line actual fast slightly bit. However man, all of the messages from my buddies, from folks I really like, folks I care about, and a few strangers — not strangers however folks I didn’t actually anticipate such deep and sort phrases from. So yeah, it was quantity of tears.
“And a whole lot of [the messages I received], simply folks I wouldn’t actually anticipate to carry me in such excessive esteem, to have such good issues to say about me and the way a lot I meant to them, that sort of stuff — like, oh man, it hit me deep. Thanks, thanks. I admire the phrases. I admire the type phrases. Meaning so much to me, thanks, that they might exit of their method and take two minutes to ship me a message even. It means so much.”
Trying again at his run, Henderson famous that he doesn’t have a favourite struggle or favourite efficiency, however slightly that his recollections across the fights are what stick with him most.
On that word, one evening specifically, across the top of his UFC championship reign, ceaselessly stands out to him as his favourite reminiscence from his preventing profession.
“I’ll in all probability say Gilbert [Melendez at UFC on FOX 7], San Jose, with the ability to suggest my spouse afterward,” he mentioned. “I’m slightly bit extra of a personal individual. I don’t like being on the market with every part of my private life, so with the ability to share a personal second, with the ability to share one thing small and particular, with the ability to suggest to my spouse, with the ability to share it with the world, on an enormous stage, a few million folks watching — that was very particular to me. That’s one thing I’m at all times going to recollect till the day I die.”
Even now that his preventing days are over, Henderson nonetheless has a lot to maintain him busy.
Together with preserving the staff working easily at The MMA Lab, he has 4 kids to maintain from the ages of two to 7, which is a full-time job in and of itself.
He additionally plans dedicate a lot of his time to serving to his spouse Maria Henderson obtain her MMA desires. She is at the moment 1-0 as an expert fighter and is ready to make her Bellator debut in a strawweight bout on March 31 towards Mackenzie Stiller at Bellator 293.
“She desires to make a profession out of it. She desires to be the perfect 115-pounder on the planet,” Henderson mentioned. “For us, we don’t struggle for enjoyable, we don’t struggle for celeb, we don’t struggle to be well-known, we don’t for cash. If I needed to struggle for cash, I nonetheless could be preventing for Bellator. Like, there’s no method higher method to show it and say I don’t struggle for cash.
“I’ve two extra fights on my Bellator contract, I make one other good amount of cash. I don’t struggle for cash. Lots of people struggle for cash — we struggle to be the perfect on the planet. As soon as I got here to the belief that, hey, I’m in all probability not going to struggle for the belt once more, then I’m good. My spouse is similar method. She desires to be the perfect on the planet. And she or he’s going to get there, and I’m going to assist her each step of the way in which.”
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