Photo credit to Bellator MMA/ Lucas Noonan
Benson Henderson fought out contract at Bellator 273 and unsure what future holds
Benson Henderson doesn’t know if his next fight will be for Bellator.
Henderson entered his co-main event scrap against Islam Mamedov at Bellator 273 on the last fight of his deal and on a three-fight losing streak. It was a massive fight for him as he was 5-6 in Bellator and he ended up edging out a split decision win in his home state. After the fight he was heard talking to Khabib Nurmagomedov who was in Mamedov’s corner that he wouldn’t mind fighting for him in Eagle FC and after the fight, Henderson said that was the last fight of his contract.
“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be doing this for Bellator, so I wanted to soak it all in,” Henderson said after the fight at the post-fight press conference. “I’m not sure if this is going to be my last fight or not, so I wanted to enjoy it, wanted to enjoy the ‘W,’ enjoy getting my hand raised. I might keep going, I might not, so we’ll find out. This is my last fight on my deal with Bellator. They pay me a lot of money, and I might have under-fought my contract. Going into the renegotiations, I’m not sure how they’re going to treat me. We’ll see. We’ll find out. But I do know if this was the last one, it was a great way to go out. … I would like to continue fighting, but all the things have to line up.”
Although Henderson hasn’t fought to his standards as he says, he still remains a big name and after beating Mamedov, he is knocking on the door at a title shot. He would likely need another win, but according to Scott Coker, he also isn’t sure what is next for Benson Henderson.
“I think he was thinking about retiring, and it’s really going to be up to him,” Coker said. “He’s already done it all. He’s been fighting a long time. He’s been a great ambassador for the sport, and if he decides to hang it up, I think he’s done everything there is to do and we’ll wish him well. But if he wants to fight, we’ll have a conversation.”
