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Benson Henderson is set to become MMA's hottest free agent

24th November, 2015
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Benson Henderson has turned his back on the UFC.
Expert
24th November, 2015
0
1266 Reads

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is expected to test the free agency market after his main event fight in South Korea this weekend.

According to veteran reporter Dave Meltzer, Henderson will fulfil the eighth and final contracted fight on his UFC deal when he faces California-based action fighter Jorge Masvidal in a scheduled five-round bout on Sunday morning.

So win or lose, the 32-year-old Arizona native is ready to test his worth as the most high-profile free agent in the sport.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the seventh-ranked UFC lightweight contender will jump ship and fight for a competitor. But it does assure Henderson the right to listen to offers from rival promotions, with Viacom-owned company Bellator MMA expected to be the top bidder.

I have no doubts that Bellator – the number-two promotion in the world – will make a large offer for Henderson. And the size of the offer, coupled with Henderson’s perceived worth by the big wigs within the UFC, will dictate whether or not they exercise their matching right or let the former champ skip town.

Earlier this year, light heavyweight contender Phil Davis completed his UFC deal. The four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler decided to test the waters with Bellator, who presumably served up a big money contract.

Whatever price tag the Scott Coker-led Bellator unit offered, the UFC wasn’t willing to match it. So Davis signed on with the second-tier promotion, where he is expected to be figured in as a major player after winning a one-night tournament on his debut.

On the contrary, when former Strikeforce lightweight kingpin Gilbert Melendez fielded offers from Bellator in 2014 the Nevada-based promotion paid handsomely to make sure he remained on their roster.

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Clearly the UFC considered the lightweight title contender to be worthy of his rich new contract and soon after completing the deal signed Melendez up to star as a coach on their reality television series The Ultimate Fighter, and scheduled him in a championship fight on pay-per-view.

Heading into UFC’s event in South Korea this weekend, Henderson and his management team must be confident that the UFC consider him a big money player worthy of a hefty salary. But if negotiations do go south, Henderson could really make an impact in a promotion like Bellator, who are desperate to snatch up any and all main event talents.

Bellator versus the UFC isn’t a real head-to-head battle. At least not yet. But picking up Henderson would be another step toward Spike TV’s flagship show becoming a viable competitor and regaining a degree of credibility in the market space.

Truth be told, Bellator are perceived by many to be the laughing stock of the sport right now. While the B-League does house its share of great fighters, it also spotlights past-their-prime veterans in an unofficial ‘seniors league’ that clogs up the main event picture.

Look no further than Belltor’s upcoming card in February, which is penciled in to be headlined by 48-year-old Royce Gracie against 51-year-old Ken Shamrock in a rivalry that began 22 years ago in the first ever UFC tournament.

This type of short-sighted booking can’t sustain in the long run, so picking up fighters in the mould of Henderson who can fight at the elite level and draw big television ratings is a necessary piece of the puzzle for Bellator to continue their growth.

And for fighters like Henderson, the prospect of fighting in Bellator’s circular cage might not seem so daunting in 2015.

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Over the past year the UFC have made quite a few changes to how they do business. The biggest and most obvious being their $70-million partnership with fitness outfitter Reebok.

The footwear and apparel company are now the exclusive sponsor of the UFC and their 500-plus roster – a move that has hurt the pocketbook of more than one fighter.

Henderson falls into the third tier of sponsorship payouts under the new deal, meaning he will take home USD$15,000 for wearing the Reebok logo on his fight attire this Sunday.

For a fighter who previously walked to the Octagon wearing shorts littered with sponsors, it’s not hard to imagine that he was taking home more than USD$15,000 before the Reebok deal was executed.

Former UFC title challenger Josh Thomson is another fighter who has decided that the grass is greener on the other side, joining Bellator earlier this year.

The seasoned combat sports star pointed to the UFC’s restrictive sponsorship ties as a big reason for the switch-up too, telling MMA Fighting that he took home USD$35,000 in sponsorship pay for his Bellator debut – seven times the amount he would’ve made if he stuck around in the UFC.

Whether or not Henderson will follow suit and put pen to paper on a Bellator deal is currently unclear, but it sure is nice to have a rival promotion willing to fight the UFC for top talent again.

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