Issue 175

January 2019

A contract trailblazer and devout Christian, Benson "Smooth" Henderson defies expectations.

Your free agent signing with Bellator was pretty monumental. Now many of the upper-tier fighters have followed your lead. Looking back in hindsight with 20/20 vision, what are your thoughts on the trend you started?

You have to be smart about this sport. The longevity of this sport isn’t great. How many examples or guys can you have in the NBA, MLB of the NFL? You have to do what’s best for your family.

You have to make money while you can. The window of opportunity to make money in this sport is super small. We don’t even make good money. We don’t make NBA or NFL money. You have to do what’s best for you. That’s the reason we have a capitalist, free-market society. The more companies and people you have who can provide a service the better it is for you, the consumer.

With so much success in the WEC and UFC, to come over to Bellator with high expectations and drop your first fight to Andrey Koreshkov had to be tough. What was the mood like after that fight?

After the Koreshkov fight, mentally it was like, "Man he just beat my butt."

He did a good job. He did what he had to do. I don’t really have any qualms about it. He was the better man that night. He beat the tar out of me. I didn’t drop my head too much. I showed up and did my best. He just beat the tar out of me that night. I just have to give credit where credit is due.

You faced Saad Awad at Bellator 208. You basically dominated the fight from start to finish. Is that how you saw it playing out?

I fully intended to get my hand raised. I knew I was going to do whatever it took to get that done. I was going to beat him up and do whatever it took to get the win.

You have been at the MMA Lab with John Crouch for years. You said he helped you go from being a broke college graduate to the husband, father and man you are today. How important has that relationship been over the years?

It’s exactly what you just said. I was able to grow into the person I am today because of him. If not for the MMA Lab and John Crouch I would not be who I am or have the things I have today. The work ethic and skills I have developed there have been great for me as a fighter and a person in general.

When you have people who actually care about you as a person and not just a fighter, I think that is a huge deal. That was a game-changer for me right there. It’s not just what I can bring to the gym or how much I can earn for the gym, but he is concerned enough to help me as a person, to help me be a better dad, John Crouch has done a really good job of that.

Where did your strong convictions and beliefs originate?

For me, I felt that was what worked the best. That what helps the most is just being positive. Whether it’s in religion or just being positive in general. Being positive and helping other people stay positive plays a big role in who I am.

What is the most important aspect of your belief system?

Being as good a husband and a father as I can be. Sometimes we forget the truly important things. We care about our jobs and we want to be the best and you should, but hopefully you should want to be a better father over whatever your job is, whether you are a journalist, a commentator, a cameraman, shouldn’t you want to be a better father, a better dad, a better husband than anything else? For me, focusing on that really helps me keep everything else in perspective.

I had a lot of lofty aspirations when I was younger. Those lofty aspirations help as well. I wanted to be the best at this or that, wanting to be a good person, wanting to do things the right way and handle things with integrity, not just when people are watching but when people aren’t watching, too. I want to be that kind of person always.