Benson Henderson - Smooth Move Tea Weight Loss

Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983), is an American mixed martial artist who competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion. As of September 29, 2014, he is the #5 contender in the UFC lightweight division and ranked as the #6 lightweight in the world according to Sherdog and by numerous other publications.

Early life

Henderson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to a Korean American mother and an African American father. He was raised in Federal Way, Washington. When Henderson was approximately 9 years old, his mother, Song, insisted that he take Tae Kwon Do lessons with his brother. "She's Korean, I'm half-Korean, and it's the traditional Korean martial art, so she wanted us to do that to get a little bit of the culture and tradition," he says. Both Benson and his brother attained black belts in Tae Kwon Do.

He attended Decatur High School from 1998 to 2001. Benson became a part of the high school's wrestling team. After graduating from high school, he attended Dana College in Blair, Nebraska and graduated in 2006 with a double major in criminal justice and sociology. While attending Dana College, Henderson was on the wrestling team, and was twice named an NAIA All-American.

"I don't drink--I've never had a sip of alcohol. I've never had a puff of a cigarette or weed or anything like that. Growing up in Tacoma, that wasn't a very popular choice. I made a decision, and whenever it came up, I passed the dutchie to the left hand side ... People have seen that. They see I don't do the club scene. By people seeing that, that affects them in a bigger way than me talking about it."

Mixed martial arts career

Henderson turned professional in 2006, winning his first match against Dan Gregary. He lost his third fight to Rocky Johnson via submission. However, this defeat was a minor setback. He rebounded with four straight wins before facing his toughest fight yet, against a UFC veteran, Diego Saraiva. Henderson came prepared as he dominated Saraiva for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision and his 7th professional win.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Three months later, Henderson made his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) debut against Anthony Njokuani. Henderson defeated Njokuani with a guillotine choke early in round two.

Henderson face Shane Roller on April 5, 2009 at WEC. Henderson won the bout via first round TKO.

Henderson was given an opportunity to fight for the Interim WEC Lightweight Championship against Donald Cerrone when lightweight champion Jamie Varner was unable to defend his title due to an injury. The fight was the main event for WEC 43 which was held in Texas. Henderson won an exciting back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Both Henderson and Cerrone were awarded with an additional purse of $20,000 for fight of the night. The bout was also awarded 2009 Fight of the Year for all of MMA by Sherdog.com

Henderson defeated Jamie Varner to unify the WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 46 on January 10, 2010. After being outboxed and outwrestled in the first two rounds, Henderson came back and caught Varner in a standing guillotine choke ending the fight at 2:41 of the third round.

Henderson had his first title defense in a rematch with Donald Cerrone on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48. defeating Cerrone via guillotine choke in the first round.

Henderson faced Anthony Pettis on December 16, 2010, at WEC 53. Henderson lost his title by unanimous decision. The fight won Fight of the Night honors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Henderson made his UFC debut at UFC 129 on April 30, 2011, where he faced Mark Bocek. Henderson won the fight via unanimous decision.

Henderson next faced Jim Miller on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5. Henderson dominated the streaking Miller throughout the fight, utilizing a stiff jab, great transitions, and vicious ground and pound throughout the match to snap Miller's 7 fight win streak, the third longest in the UFC at the time. Despite being threatened with multiple deep submission attempts, Henderson escaped each attempt and advanced position with increasingly brutal punches and elbows. He earned a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26).

Henderson faced Clay Guida on November 12, 2011, at UFC on Fox 1. He won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds in an action packed war that earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors. With the win, he became the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight title.

Henderson faced Frankie Edgar on February 26, 2012, at UFC 144. Henderson defeated Edgar via unanimous decision to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion. Both participants earned Fight of the Night honors for their performance.

A rematch with Edgar took place on August 11, 2012, at UFC 150. In a bout that was very tightly contested, Henderson defeated Edgar again, this time via split decision.

Henderson faced Nate Diaz on December 8, 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. Henderson punished Diaz with kicks, superior wrestling and ground and pound, Henderson knocked Diaz down twice with punches and was able to take his back on numerous occasions earning a unanimous decision victory.

Henderson faced the final Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, and promotional newcomer Gilbert Melendez on April 20, 2013, at UFC on Fox 7. Henderson won the fight by a closely contested split decision. After 3 consecutive wins to retain the title, Henderson tied BJ Penn with the highest number of title defenses as a lightweight.

Henderson was expected to face TJ Grant on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164. However, Grant was forced out of the bout with an injury, setting up a rematch with Anthony Pettis who defeated Henderson last time they fought via unanimous decision at the final WEC event, WEC 53. Pettis defeated Henderson via submission (armbar) in the first round. This is the second time Henderson lost his championship belt and title to Pettis.

In his first post-title loss fight, Henderson faced Josh Thomson on January 25, 2014, in the main event at UFC on Fox 10. Henderson defeated Thomson via split decision. He nearly became the first man to submit Thomson when he caught Thomson in a standing arm-triangle choke. Many media outlets and observers were split on who they thought should have been declared the winner. Thomson had one more takedown (5 to 4) and was able to secure Henderson's back on multiple occasions, while Henderson was able to significantly outstrike Thomson (114 to 33) over the duration of the bout and was credited with the bout's only submission attempt.

Henderson faced Rustam Khabilov on June 7, 2014, in the main event at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. The win also earned Henderson his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Henderson headlined UFC Fight Night 49 against Rafael dos Anjos on August 23, 2014. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Henderson was scheduled to fight Eddie Alvarez on January 18, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59. However, Alvarez pulled out of the fight in early January due to illness, and was replaced by Donald Cerrone in a rematch. Henderson lost the fight via a controversial unanimous decision. 12 of 14 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Henderson.

Henderson was expected to face Jorge Masvidal on April 4, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 63. However, Henderson was pulled from the pairing with Masvidal in favor of a welterweight bout with Brandon Thatch on February 14, 2015 in the event headliner at UFC Fight Night 60, where he replaced an injured Stephen Thompson. Henderson won the back and forth fight via submission in the fourth round. Their performance earned both participants Fight of the Night honors

Henderson is expected to face Michael Johnson on July 12, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale.

Personal life

Henderson is a Christian, and often refers to his religious beliefs in post-fight interviews. He is married to Maria Magana and has one older brother, Julius Henderson, who was born in Korea. Henderson proposed to his fiancée in the Octagon after his win over Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox 7.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • Three successful title defenses
  • Fight of the Night (Three times)
  • Performance of the Night (One time)

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • One successful title defense
  • Interim WEC Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • Fight of the Night (Two times)
  • Submission of the Night (One time)

• ESPN
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year
  • 2012 Fight of the Year vs. Frankie Edgar
• Inside MMA
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year Bazzie Award

• MMAWeekly.com
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year

• FightMatrix.com
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year

• MMAFighting.com
  • 2010 Fight of the Year vs. Anthony Pettis on December 16
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

• USA Today
  • 2010 Fight of the Year vs. Anthony Pettis on December 16

• Sports Illustrated
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

• Sherdog
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

Submission grappling

• International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2011 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Brown Belt Bronze Medalist
  • 2014 World Jiu Jitsu No-Gi Championship Black Belt Bronze Medalist
• Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • AZSBJJF MVP of the Year (2010)
  • Arizona State Championship Brown Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist (Two times)
  • Arizona State Championship Purple Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist (Two times)
  • Arizona State Championship Openweight Gold Medalist (Three times)

Amateur wrestling

• National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
  • NAIA All-American (2005, 2006)
• Washington Interscholastic Activities Association
  • WIAA 4A High School State Championship Runner-up (2001)
  • WIAA 4A All-State (2001)

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

Array

References

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External links

• Official Site
• Professional MMA record for Benson Henderson from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile
• Ben Henderson Quotes

Interesting Informations

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