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Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson signs with Bellator

Jason Floyd

Benson Henderson is heading to Bellator MMA as the former UFC lightweight champion announced on early Monday afternoon on his official website that he has decided to sign with the California based promotion.

I’d like to officially announce my move over to Bellator MMA.
I’m beyond excited for this next phase of my career, it’s a big move, like any move when switching employers or jobs after having worked somewhere for such a long time.

I have to thank the BigMan upstairs for putting some amazing people in my life, my wife (first and foremost) and a lot of truly smart and insightful people behind the scenes who helped make the connections and negotiated this deal to bring it to fruition.

I’d be remiss to not thank Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita for the opportunities they presented me, you guys have helped me change my life for the better and to be able to provide my family with the things I didn’t have while growing up. For that I’ll always have the utmost appreciation. Thanks for all the advise you guys gave too, both business wise and personal.

And last but not least, to who it is I think of when I think of the UFC! Everybody behind the scenes who I personally dealt with every time I reported in or had to do something. Mayra, Melissa, Dave, Chris, Nick, Tracy, Joanie, Maura, Tony, Heidi, Ryan, James, Dave, Kaia (sp.???), Burt, Rob, Rudy, Stitch, House, Mike, Susie, Dean, Donna, Feryal, Sean, Joe, Brad, Jazzmine, Candice, Michelle, Reed, sorry I can’t name everyone or this list would go on for forever. There’s a whole ton of people behind the scenes who make that show what it is. You guys and girls are the ones who make that show great and allow us fighters to do what it is we love!!! Much love to you all and thanks for putting up with me for so long.

To my fans, thanks for all the love and support, I’ll keep giving you my all, opening up my heart and soul inside that cage. I’m excited for this next chapter and building new relationships with guys I’ve heard nothing but great things about like Scott Coker, Rich Chou and Mike Kogan.

#TheOnceAndFutureKing
BH

Following the announcement of Henderson signing with the promotion, Bellator President Scott Coker released a statement in a press release and did not indicate which weight division Henderson will be fighting at in Bellator.

“Benson is a tremendous athlete who puts forth an exciting effort each and every time he steps into the cage,” said Coker. “Whether he chooses to fight at lightweight or welterweight, he’s without question a great addition to this promotion, and brings countless amazing matchups to the table. We’re looking forward to having him put on a show for the great Bellator MMA fans that tune into Spike. We plan on announcing his Bellator debut in the very near future.”

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10 Responses

  1. i don’t know how you feel about this, but on my part i think this is a very smooth move for benson.

  2. Bellator has signed/ created stars under Coker. For example: Honeycutt, Mckee Jr, Pico, Ed Ruth, Macfarlane, Lena Ovchynnikova, Anastasia Yankova, etc.

    Ariel said that before signing Benson Henderson, Bellator’s biggest signing was Roger Huerta. This guy is forgetting about Rampage, Phil Davis, King Mo, Tito, Kongo, Kimbo, Marloes Connen, Paul Daley, Melvin manhoef, Pico, Ruth, etc.

    I wanna see Bellator make Brooks vs Bendo and Koreshkov vs Ward. Hbu?

    Where do you think Kharitonov will sign UFC or Bellator?

    You think Bellator will sign Chris leben, Wandy, Mitrione or bring back Shawn Jordan? Maybe even sign Sara Kaufman to fight at Featherweight?

    1. Also Gaston Reyno, Gleristone Santos, Adam Piccolotti, etc. So ppl can’t say Bellator hasn’t signed/ created any stars under Coker.

    2. What is your definition of created stars? As there been some nice signing? Yes. But we have to wait and see if fighters like Pico and Ruth develop the way some people think. As of right now, they have not competed. We don’t know how they will do.

      Brooks vs. Henderson and Koreshkov vs. Ward would be great fights. However, I think it’s likely that Henderson’s days as a lightweight are over and that he will just compete as a welterweight.

      When it comes to Sergei Kharitonov, it just comes down to if he will take the money the UFC or Bellator is willing to offer. In the past, I have heard that his asking price was way too high.

      On Leben, Wanderlei, Mitrione, Jordan and Kaufman — I think it’s likely that Leben, Wanderlei and Mitrione end up in Bellator. I think you will see Kaufman back in the UFC. Seems like Jordan may be done with MMA based on some recent comments he made.

      1. What I meant is under Coker they’ve signed some prospects and had big signings.

        Henderson said on The MMA Hour that he wants to fight at Lightweight and Welterweight. Who knows maybe he holds both belts at the same time.

        Are you suprised that Coker said that Benson was their number one target and not Overeem? With Coker’s history/ relationship with Overeem I would have thought he’d make a hard push to sign him. I know he wants a ton of money. But it might be worth it.

        Do you think now that they’ve signed Benson that they won’t go after Overeem.

        They could do Overeem vs Lashley on PPV. It might do well if they loaded the card.

        Do you know how many fights Benson signed for with Bellator? Is it 6 fights like Phil Davis? He said he’d be in Bellator the next couple of yrs.

        You think there is some PPV fights for him in his contract? Or is it all on Spike TV?

        1. I am not totally surprised that Coker said Henderson was the number one target since he has shown to be a television draw, in terms of ratings. I believe you will still see them go after Overeem, just a matter of do they want to pay Overeem the kind of salary he is going to want.

          Bellator is a cable television product at the end of the day. It’s highly unlikely you will see them go back to pay-per-view.

          In terms of the contract, I expect to start hearing details over the next couple of weeks.

  3. You think Overeem is the next one to sign with Bellator? I think he re- signs with the UFC. I don’t think he wants to go to Bellator. He wants that UFC gold.

    I think within a week Overeem and Sterling will sign with either UFC or Bellator.

    Do you know if Bellator offered more than WSOF to Sterling?

    Plus Bellator can’t sign Overeem, Sterling, and Wandy. They just signed Benson Henderson and Kharitonov to big deals.

    But signing Overeem to a big contract would be worth it than any of the other free agents IMO.

    If Bellator signs Overeem this week. Can you and Sam Caplan do a special MMA Insiders talking about the recent signings?

    1. After Overeem’s last fight, I got the feeling that he wanted to come back to the UFC to go for that title. Simply based on the interview Malki Kawa gave Ariel Helwani. When it comes to free agency and this goes with every sport, not just MMA. You hear a lot of things when it comes to contract negotiations. One of the things I recently heard is that Bellator made a good offer. Ultimately, Overeem is going to make a good salary wherever his next fight take place. I go back and fourth on where I think he may end up, but I am leaning towards Bellator.

      When it comes to Sterling, I heard his comments in a video interview that he has offers from Bellator and WSOF. I have not heard any particulars on the deal, but my gut feeling is that whatever contract he brings to the UFC, they will match it.

      The MMA Insiders Podcast will return next week, either on Monday or Tuesday.

      1. If he does sign with bellator I heard it would be for 3 fights. Then he’d prolly go back to the UFC and fight for the belt there.

        Maybe he’ll be the first ever fighter to win the K1, Dream, Strikeforce, Bellator, and UFC titles.

        I think testing the MMA market will be a big trend going forward.

        What would fighters do if Viacom wasn’t invested in MMA? The answer is they’d have no leverage.

        And I think there should be more than 2 major players in MMA. I think there should be 3 or 4. Wouldn’t you agree?

        There needs to be a competitive balance IMO.

        1. The only way for a fighter to find out their true market value is by exploring free agency. See what multiple promotions are willing to offer for your services. When you are only talking to one promotion, it’s tough to know if you are really getting market value for your services.

          Having multiple promotions that can pay fighters big money is a great thing. However, the promotions have to be able to make a profit, unless they like to lose money. In this sport, it can be easier to just be a regional promotion and do shows with local guys. There are a lot of promoters out there that are fine with just being a local show because they make a profit putting on shows.

          Something to watch over the next 12 months or so, especially with Viacom is how many homes is Spike in. Was just reading an article the other day how Spike was moved from a basic cable channel to a premium type package with Comcast (I believe). We have seen everything that has happened with ESPN over the past couple of years, all due to cord cutting. Just something to keep an eye out for as the way people view television is changing.

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