Scrapp! FIGHT MAGAZINE
May - 2016
23
five rounds, it was a unan-
imous 50-45 win for Ko-
reshkov, marking his first
title defense. For Benson
Henderson, it will mark his
first loss since a close de-
cision against Donald Cer-
rone back in the UFC.
Many are calling it an up-
set. You’ll hear voices
shortly proclaiming that
Bellator’s big free agent
signing is a bust. Pay them
no heed. Those naysay-
ers are oversimplifying the
matter.
Henderson’s debut loss is
actually a blessing in dis-
guise for Bellator. For start-
ers, fighting up a weight
class is never easy. While
welterweight gold would
have looked great on Ben-
son Henderson, make no
mistake: while we’ve long
called him a large light-
weight, he’s not a full-sized
welterweight, at least not
next to the larger end of
that division.
He proved he had heart Fri-
day night simply by finish-
ing the fight — heart and
a chin. That’s something
that had never really been
tested to date, as most
opponents couldn’t catch
him to put it to the test.
The big factor here, how-
ever, is one of credibility.
Though he lost, though he
was fighting up a weight
class, Henderson was a
credible opponent for Ko-
reshkov, coming off a two
fight win streak at welter-
weight in the UFC. Many
were expecting Bendo to
coast to an easy win. The
fight is now being called
a “shocking upset” by
some, though the odds
were quite close heading
into the bout according
to Bet365 (popular casino
rated highlyamong punt-
ers). In any case, Koresh-
kov now has the biggest
scalp of his career on his
record. Suddenly, he’s be-
ing looked at in a different
light, having beaten a for-
mer UFC champion, and
not one who was champ
a decade ago, but a recent
champion, one who many
expected to have the up-
per hand.
For Bellator, it gets better.
Not only did Benson Hen-
derson help establish their
welterweight kingpin, he’s
already itching to get back
in the cage again. As he
noted in the post-fight in-
terview with Jimmy Smith,
he hates losing. He’s look-
ing for his next challenge.
Welcome back to
lightweight, Bendo.
Lightweight is arguably
the most stacked divi-
sion in Bellator MMA.
Even with the loss of
Eddie Alvarez — now
plying his trade for
the UFC, and facing
Rafael Dos Anjos for
the title this Summer
— the division has the
likes of Will Brooks,
Michael Chandler, Pat-
ricky Freire, Marcin
Held, David Rickels,
Josh Thompson, Mel-
vin Guillard, John Ales-
sio, and a host of oth-
ers. In short, there are
plenty of good fights
for Henderson in the
division, and he in-
stantly elevates it even
coming off a loss. One
win, and he’s ready for
a title shot.
It’s conceivable that
Bellator may grant him
one immediately, wel-
terweight loss or no.
So don’t count Bella-
tor MMA’s big signing
out just yet — even in
losing, Benson Hen-
derson has paid off for
them.
