UFC:s förre lättviktsmästare, Benson Henderson (26-8 mma, 3-3 Bellator), bytte till Bellator under 2016 och kan numera ses som en veteran i organisationen.
Glad att slippa UFC-drama
Henderson säger till MMA Fighting att han är glad att slippa all drama som pågår i sin förra organisation, UFC. Har har sett hur hetlevrat det är mellan den nuvarande lättviktsmästaren Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0 mma, 11-0 UFC) och den förre mästaren Conor McGregor (21-4 mma, 9-2 UFC) och hur svårt det har varit för ”top contenders” som Dustin Poirier (25-5-1 mma, 17-4-1 UFC) och Tony Ferguson (24-3 mma, 14-1 UFC) att få titelmatcher.
“I thank the Lord I don’t have to deal with that part of the job. And I never really dealt with it in the first place, I wasn’t one of those guys that was like, ‘Aw, I gotta deal with this.’ But whatever, it’s like water off a duck’s back. It’s no big deal.
Henderson fortsätter:
“But man, when you’re on a six-fight, seven-fight win streak and you can’t get a title shot call, or it just doesn’t go your way. There’s a bunch of stuff, but it’s just like the politics of it, you’re not known for what you do inside the cage. You’re more known for what you do outside the cage. That very much irks me, because I’m pretty boring outside the cage. I’m a blue collar, I go to work, I bust my ass in the gym, but I’m not somebody who’s going to say something outlandish just for the sake of getting a few more Twitter followers or I’m not gonna pose naked for more Instagram followers. I’m not one of those guys that says something stupid just for the sake of getting more attention.”
Negativ utveckling
Henderson menar att utvecklingen i sporten har pressat fighters till att göra allt för att synas.
“I think in the UFC that’s exactly the route you have to go. You have to say something incredibly stupid, you have to wear sunglasses inside to get the attention. You have to start wearing fur coats. I see these younger guys, when they get into the UFC, they’re pretty normal, straight-laced, good guys, just hard workers, that’s how they got to the UFC. And then they go on a two-fight, three-fight win streak and all of a sudden they’re wearing fur coats to media interviews and wearing sunglasses inside. It’s like, who is this guy? Where’d you come from?
Inte ångrar Henderson sin flytt till Bellator heller.
“Yeah, we’re all growing, we’re all changing, you’re not going to be the same person at 29 that you were at 24, but that being said, you’re going to become somebody who wears a fur coat in the middle of July, like, come on, be serious there, kid. It is what it is, so I am very happy, very thankful that I don’t have to deal with that for sure.”
Henderson tar sig härnäst ann Adam Piccolotti (11-2 mma, 7-2 Bellator) på Bellator 220 i helgen.
Håller ni med Henderson i det han säger?
