Benson Henderson is aiming for another shot at Bellator gold.
Following his dominant 25-minute display against Peter Queally in the main event of Bellator 285 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, Henderson made it clear who, what, and where he wants his next bout.
In the co-main event of Bellator 288, Patricky Freire puts his lightweight title on the line against the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov. If Henderson gets his wish, he wants to face the winner of the bout, no matter who emerges with the gold around his waist. Although, if ‘Pitbull’ retains, Henderson admits that fight would mean a little more.
“I want the title shot next,” Henderson told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “It’s the Russian vs. Brazilian. Mad respect for ‘Pitbull,’ I’m a huge Patricio, Patricky fan. Patricky has the belt, and he has a ‘W’ over me. So, I think it would be very apropos for him to win his fight and for me to square off against him, and take the belt from him since he has a ‘W’ over me.
“But if Usman happens to win, if it’s him instead, let’s go ahead and have Bellator set up a fight in Russia. Ohh, eww – Russia’s a no-no right now. So, maybe we go somewhere else in the Eastern Europe and go do a title shot over there somewhere.”
Henderson has faced both Freire bothers with mixed results. He defeated Patricio by TKO stoppage due to injury at Bellator 160, but Patricky avenged his brother’s loss by split decision win at Bellator 183 in 2017.
If Henderson does get his way, it would be the third opportunity for Bellator gold during his run with the promotion. In his debut following his UFC exit, Henderson faced Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight title at Bellator 153, but lost a unanimous decision. His second title opportunity came at lightweight against Michael Chandler at Bellator 165, but was on the wrong side of a split decision.
After back-to-back wins, Henderson thinks it’s time for another shot at the lightweight strap.
“Whoever wins, that is what I want next,” Henderson said. “That’s why I said yes to Peter, he just fought for the belt, just lost for the belt. (The plan was) To go out there and go dominate, get my hand raised against Peter, and get a title shot next. … But, it’s up to the powers that be.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 285.