Benson Henderson on facing Frankie Edgar again: “It would be criminal not to give him a rematch”
UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson has been speaking about his decision to grant former champion, Frankie Edgar an immediate rematch following their close five-round affair a month ago, explaining after the man dubbed “The Answer” granted back-to-back rematches to two of his challengers it would be criminal not to follow suit and do the same.
Speaking during a recent edition of UFC Insider, Henderson said:
“Frankie gave two rematches. It’s criminal not to give him a rematch after a decision, because, as a champ, he gave two rematches. I think it’s something that has to be done sometimes. There’s just no alternative. It does create a little bit of a logjam, I guess you could say, from the top, but, if you’re a challenger, the idea is you have to keep winning. It doesn’t matter. You have to keep on winning. So, if there’s a logjam…guess what? You gotta fight. You gotta win. Oh well. That’s the way life goes.”
When asked whether he felt Anthony Pettis equally deserved a shot at the title, Henderson responded:
“I would say probably not so much. He had a split decision over an unranked Jeremy Stephens. I believe Ariel Helwani had Joe Lauzon ranked number ten. Nice win. Good stoppage over a number ten guy, but I don’t think that catapults you over guys like Jim Miller or Nate Diaz, who’s on a nice little run. So, it’s hard to say, really. Oh, absolutely. We’re gonna do it. Before I retire, before I die — he and I are gonna dance again in the Octagon. I’m gonna have the belt for a while. I’m gonna hold on to the belt. I’m not letting go of it for the next four, five years or so. It’s a matter of Pettis working his way up to the top to be a number one contender and get the title shot. I’m definitely looking forward to it. I wanna get my hands on him. But, you know, it’s up to Dana White, Joe Silva and those guys.”
Henderson and Edgar squared off a month 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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