Benson Henderson says it’s no longer his job to call people out, just beat them up as the champion
UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson has been speaking about his place at the top of the 155 pound ladder after winning the title late last month in Saitama, Japan, explaining it’s no longer his job to call people out and will just concentrate on beating up the challengers that are lined up in front of him.
Speaking via UFC.com, Henderson said:
“I definitely don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. People seem to think that I’m arrogant or cocky, and I don’t want to come across like that. I’ve said it from the very beginning that I want to be the best fighter and I want to fight and beat everybody. It’s not me looking ahead and being cocky all of a sudden like, oh, I beat Frankie Edgar and now all of a sudden I’m gonna smash everybody. I was saying this from the beginning. I’m as confident as any other fighter on the UFC roster. I’m a very confident fighter and all fighters are, or they should be. I want to fight everybody on the roster at 155, I want to beat ‘em all, and I want to have a nice long reign at 155. I’ll do a Bernard Hopkins or Joe Louis. I want to make 155 my weight class and I want my name to be synonymous with it. I think that would be something special.”
On a potential summer rematch with Frankie Edgar, Henderson added:
“Let’s run that back, let’s do it again. In my eyes, I don’t really see myself as one of those primadonna wide receivers: ‘I want this, and this has gotta happen.’ I represent the UFC, I’m the 155-pound guy right now, and even if you don’t have the belt, it’s not about you calling some guys out. To me, that’s kinda tacky and disrespectful. It’s Sean Shelby, Joe Silva, and Dana White’s job to put somebody in front of you. Whoever they put in front of me, I will beat up. It doesn’t matter. My job is not to match myself up and call this guy or that guy out. I’m not gonna go on Twitter and make my own match. Some guys are into that and that’s the way they want to pursue their career, and they can go right ahead. My job is to beat people up.”
The two men squared off just a couple of weeks ago at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan, with Henderson walking away with a tight decision win via unanimous decision. Many fans and critics, including MMABay, gave the win to Edgar on the night yet the man dubbed “Smooth” has made a believer out of many since. Stay tuned to MMABay for more build-up to this one as we get it.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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