- Benson Henderson is calling for a lightweight title shot following his dominant win at Bellator 285
- “Smooth” said it has been his plan all along
Benson Henderson is convinced that his masterclass performance against Peter Queally at Bellator 285 in Dublin is enough to get another crack at lightweight gold. Speaking in his post-fight press conference, “Smooth” went straightforward with his plan to take on the winner of the lightweight title fight between Patricky Freire and Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 288.
Either way is good
According to Henderson, either a rematch with Freire or a fresh title bout with Russia’s Nurmagomedov is fine with him.
“I want the title shot next,” Henderson told reporters via MMA Junkie. “It’s the Russian vs. Brazilian. Mad respect for ‘Pitbull,’ I’m a huge Patricio, Patricky fan. Patricky has the belt, and he has a ‘W’ over me. So, I think it would be very apropos for him to win his fight and for me to square off against him, and take the belt from him since he has a ‘W’ over me.”
“But if Usman happens to win, if it’s him instead, let’s go ahead and have Bellator set up a fight in Russia,” he added. “Ohh, eww – Russia’s a no-no right now. So, maybe we go somewhere else in the Eastern Europe and go do a title shot over there somewhere…Whoever wins, that is what I want next.”
That’s the whole point
Henderson added that he’s been eyeing that title shot even before he agreed to fight Queally, whos last fight was for the lightweight strap against Freire. In fact, “Smooth” stressed that it’s the main reason why he decided to say “yes” to Queally.
“That’s why I said yes to Peter, he just fought for the belt, just lost for the belt,” Henderson explained. “(The plan was) To go out there and go dominate, get my hand raised against Peter, and get a title shot next. … But, it’s up to the powers that be.”
Should Bellator decides to give Henderson a nod, it will be his third title fight under the promotion’s umbrella since his UFC departure in 2016. It can be recalled that Henderson immediately fought for the welterweight strap against Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 153 and lost via unanimous decision. Later that year, Henderson fought for the lightweight title against Michael Chandler at Bellator 165, but felt short-handed on the judges’ scorecard and lost via split decision.
Is Bellator willing to hand Henderson another shot? Let’s wait and see.