Benson Henderson: If Anthony Pettis isn't defending his title, give the best to me
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is about to embark on his second fight in 2014 when he steps into the Octagon against Rustam Khabilov this weekend at UFC Fight Night in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It will also be the second time Henderson has fought since losing the title to Anthony Pettis in August 2013. In that same span of time, Pettis has dealt with a knee injury that's kept him on the sidelines prior to a gig coaching The Ultimate Fighter and a return to the cage in December when he faces Gilbert Melendez with the belt on the line.
Injuries are part of the sport so Henderson is sympathetic to Pettis' plight, but at the same time with two losses to the current champion he knows he's going to have to work extra hard to get back for a third shot. It doesn't help matters much that Pettis' is on the shelf and by the time he defends his belt for the first time, Henderson in theory could have picked up three fights and three wins in 2014.
It's frustrating because Henderson wants nothing more than to earn that shot against Pettis, but it could be more than a year from now before he can even contemplate competing for the gold again.
"You know me, man, I don't like to talk crap, I respect everybody," Henderson told the Great MMA Debate podcast when asked about Pettis' absence from the division. "It doesn't matter to me, I'm going to do what I do, I'm going to stay in the Octagon fighting, but you want to bring it up, you want to say it, they know what it is. Just look at the dates, look at the times, look at the fights. Look who's fighting, look who's winning, look at it. You decide yourself, I'm just going to keep going out and doing my job."
Henderson had to change his expectations a bit when he heard Pettis was injured and wouldn't be defending his title at all until the end of the year, which would mark around 16 months between lightweight championship fights. The way Henderson looks at it is if Pettis is injured and unable to prove he's the best in the world, and he's out there beating every other contender, then he's still the top dog in the division with or without the title.
"You can not fight for two years and still have the belt -- what does it mean? What does it mean if you have the belt for five years and you defend it one time? What does that really mean? It's not about talk, it's not about saying this guy's the best, that guy's the best, and people's opinions and rankings. It's about what happens inside the Octagon. Who goes out there and puts it down. I'm always going to be doing that," Henderson said.
"Title or not, whether I have the championship belt or I don't, if you have the championship what does that mean? It means you're fighting the best people. If the belt's not being defended and you're not fighting the top people, give those top people to me. I'll take it. I'll do the job without the belt."
It's a perspective Henderson first talked about prior to his fight against Josh Thomson at the FOX UFC Saturday event from Chicago in January. He's determined to one day reclaim the UFC lightweight title, but until then he wants every tough challenge the UFC can give him.
"We'll meet again"
The fights that no one wants? Give them to Henderson.
The next great lightweight contender? Give them to Henderson
An undefeated fighter on a win streak? Give them to Henderson.
Henderson wants to beat every single person that can stake a claim to the title while Pettis is still sitting on the sidelines so when he returns, the UFC can look around the lightweight division and they will have no other option than to give him the rematch he wants.
"My point of view, even without the belt, I was always about winning, getting your hand raised. I want to fight the best people. As the belt holder, the positive thing about being the belt holder is you get a higher pay, you're known as the champ, but what really matters is you're fighting the best people. I want to fight the best people. I want to be the best fighter on the planet," Henderson said.
"To do that I have to fight the best. If I'm going to fight three times a year and the belt holder's not going to fight three times a year, I want to fight all the best people. So while he can take a long a break as he wants, give all those best people to me still. So I'm still fighting the best people."
This weekend in Albuquerque, Henderson will face a fighter in Rustam Khabilov who currently sits at No. 11 in the UFC rankings. Henderson remains the top dog in the division without the title so anyone is technically going to be below him outside of the champion, but none of that matters.
Henderson sees the rankings as just a jumbled mess of numbers and opinions and while he won't take away anyone's right to say that this guy or that guy is the best, he'd rather just look at the opponent and realize it's going to be a tough challenge. Khabilov fits that bill perfectly.
"It doesn't matter what a guy's ranked. He could be No. 20 in the world, if you sleep on him because he's No. 20 and he will hand you a butt whooping. Rankings just don't matter," Henderson said. "It's like cool, that's your opinion. That's all rankings are, somebody's opinion and I don't begrudge anyone of their opinion.
"You think I'm the worst fighter ever and terrible, sure go ahead you can think that. I think I've proven otherwise, but you're allowed to have your opinion. If you think I'm the best fighter of all time, awesome that's cool too. I dig that. The rankings are someone's opinion. What matters is the action inside of the Octagon. Getting your hand raised that's what matters to me."
