Bellator 285: 3Arena; Dublin, Ireland
He might not look as fresh as he did as WEC of UFC lightweight champion, however Benson Henderson looks rejuvenated. The 38-year old is now on a modest two-fight win streak. And although his last four-fights have now gone to the scorecards, he’s 4-4 in that time. And he hasn’t had a finish since April of 2018. Which by the way, was a submission over Roger Huerta. But he continues to do just enough thanks to a very special gas tank.
He put Peter Queally through a wood chipper for five-rounds, landing elbow after elbow after elbow. Which helped open three cuts on the Irishman’s face. Along with his trademark assortment of kicks and knees. The fact that Queally in front of his hometown crowd didn’t go down is a credit to his granite chin. Queally started fast being cheered on by the packed crowd. However; midway through the fight his offensive pace slowed dramatically.
“Smooth” though, has one goal he has set his eyes on. And that is one last run at the only title that has alluded him. Bellator’s lightweight title. After his last win against Islam Mamedov the free agent was granted another four fight contract. After that, he has already confirmed he will walk away to mostly concentrate on his wife Maria’s Bellator strawweight career.
Benson Henderson Looks Rejuvenated Takes Aim At Two Targets
Post fight he told John McCarthy that he’d be up to fight either Patricky Freire in a Brazilian soccer stadium or Usman Nurmagomedov in one in Dagestan. Depending of course, on who’s holding the 155 strap after they meet in November.
It’s hard to imagine that fight not getting an immediate rematch. But both bring interesting matchups. Nurmagomedov has yet to be tested against anyone heading into his first title fight. But unlike his famous cousin Khabib; he’s a finisher… and one with almost deadly accuracy. He’s a sniper on the feet and a technician on the ground. So if the 24-year old Dagestani becomes champion his youthful aggression can be used against him. Providing of course “Pitbull” doesn’t do that first.
And speaking of the Brazilian, he already holds a win over Henderson. It was back at Bellator 183 in September of 2017. And it was literally the closest of split decisions you could have. So it’s a coin flip fight.
Sitting at number three in the rankings Henderson doesn’t need to risk his position in the queue right now. Especially with the end of the line coming. But sitting too long at his age would be a serious detriment. One slot above him is Tofiq Musayev and one below is Sidney Outlaw. Those should be his warmups if he is truly going to be granted a shot at becoming a three organization champion. Plus both of those are very winnable fights.
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