Benson Henderson: A Move to Welterweight Makes the Most Career Sense

 Loading ...

By Barnaby Kellaway

When Benson Henderson accepted a fight against Brandon Thatch on just fifteen days notice he said it would be a fleeting appearance at 170 before returning to 155.

However, since he impressively came from behind to choke Thatch out he has seemingly rethought his original plan. When asked about his intentions with regards to weight class he said “It’s still up in the air, I’m not really sure”.

Judging by his performance in the fight and fan reaction post fight he’d certainly be wise to contemplate making a run at the 170 belt.

Firstly, if he does return to lightweight he’s going to be a long way away from the belt. Incumbent champion Anthony Pettis, who looks to be champion for some time, has already beaten him twice meaning there is very little chance of the two sharing the Octagon again. As well as this he’s lost to two other contenders, Donald Cerrone and Raphael Dos Anjos, within the last year. To be frank, Benson Henderson isn’t in the lightweight title contention at the moment.

With this win though he has created a rare opportunity for himself to start again in a new division. We have seen other fighters do this very same thing with great levels of success. Cormier, Machida, Edgar and Johnson are all examples of men who have switched weight classes in order to reignite their careers after they’ve stagnated at their current one. All of these fighters benefited from doing so, each of them at least earning a title shot. Also when you consider that Henderson is a former champion he may even get preferential treatment when it comes to matchmaking.

As well as it adding up in terms of championship aspirations it also makes sense when it comes to fan favor. The outpouring of support since the victory has been astonishing. Social media has been ablaze with adoration for “Smooth” as well as vastly increased appreciation from the MMA media for our former champion.

During his time at 155 Henderson has earned a reputation as a fairly safe fighter. Whilst his high skill level was undoubtedly appreciated he was known to grind out victories by using clever round winning tactics to draw the result in his favour. His title win and all three defenses came by decision. It’s for these reasons he has never been a fan favorite.

However in his debut at 170 we saw a never before seen style, he was free of whatever shackles had constrained him at 155. Fighting a bigger, stronger man injected Henderson with a dose of reckless abandon. He was for once the underdog and he fought like one.

The fans loved it. Even Brandon Thatch’s home crowd were cheering Henderson by the end.

With everything taken in to account it’s clear Benson Henderson’s near future is in the welterweight division. Whilst there’s nothing for him at lightweight anymore it’s all in front of him at welterweight.