Benson
Henderson called it a career on Friday night, laying his gloves
in the cage following a first-round submission loss to Usman
Nurmagomedov in the
Bellator 292 main event.
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“These last four fights I signed with Bellator, I told myself that
if I lose at all any of these last four fights, then it’s about
that time,” Henderson said in the cage immediately after the
bout.
“I’ve had a nice, long run. I’ve done a lot of great things and was
able to do a lot of amazing accomplishments, and thank you to
everybody around the world. Thank you guys for your love and
support, I appreciate that.”
The 39-year-old former UFC and WEC lightweight champion further
elaborated on his decision at the Bellator 292 post-fight press
conference. He said that while he’ll still be involved with the
sport, the focus will be on his wife’s fighting career. Maria
Henderson is scheduled to make her second pro appearance
against Mackenzie
Stiller at Bellator 293 on March 31.
“It’s my wife’s turn to shine – her turn to practice three, four
times a day and get after it,” Henderson said. “I’ll leave that to
her, and I’ll be doing the majority of taking care of the kids. But
I’ll still be in the gym, helping my team, and of course helping
out my wife.”
Henderson exits the sport with a 30-12 career mark. His resume
includes wins over the likes of Donald
Cerrone (twice), Jim Miller,
Clay
Guida, Frankie
Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz,
Gilbert
Melendez, Josh Thomson
and Jorge
Masvidal. “Smooth” hopes that his legacy is defined by his
worth ethic above all else.
“If anything, the thing I’m highest on in this life is hard work,”
he said. “I don’t care what it is that you do – a journalist, a
cameraman, a fighter. It doesn’t matter what you do. It’s all about
how hard you work. I think maybe for my career, I want to be known
as the guy who worked his butt off.”