Benson Henderson
| Benson W. Henderson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
November 16, 1983 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Other names | Smooth, Bendo |
| Residence | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 156 lb (71 kg; 11 st 2 lb) |
| Division |
Lightweight (2006–2015, 2016–present) Welterweight (2015–2016) |
| Reach | 70.0 in (178 cm) |
| Style | Taekwondo, Wrestling, BJJ, Boxing, |
| Fighting out of | Glendale, Arizona |
| Team | MMA Lab |
| Rank | Black belt in Taekwondo Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under John Crouch |
| Wrestling | NAIA wrestling |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 31 |
| Wins | 24 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 10 |
| By decision | 11 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 4 |
| University | Dana College |
| Notable school(s) | Decatur High School |
| Website | http://www.smoothben.com/ |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United States
|
||
| Men's Grappling | ||
| IBJJF World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship | ||
 |
2014 Long Beach | -79.5 kg (Black) |
| IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship | ||
|
2011 Long Beach | -76 kg (Brown) |
Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes for Bellator MMA, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion.
Henderson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to a Korean 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.
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.
Three months later, Henderson made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut on January 25, 2009 at WEC 38 against Anthony Njokuani. Henderson defeated Njokuani with a guillotine choke early in round two.
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