The Savage Truth: Smooth’s Move

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The news broke Monday that former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson was jumping ship to Bellator MMA, and exactly zero people were surprised.

Rumors of the signing had swirled since before his last fight in the UFC. Among many insiders, it had been viewed as an inevitable move for more than a year.

Soon after the official story made its way into the news cycle, we heard about the ability to get sponsors -- take that, Reebok -- and the chance to fight for a title in the near term as key factors in Henderson’s decision. It wasn’t hard to understand why a fighter of Henderson’s stature would choose to make the promotional switch. What was confusing to some was why the UFC would waive its right to match his deal with Bellator.

When you consider the kind of contract it was going to take to keep Henderson in the UFC, and the fact that he was no longer competing at the top of the lightweight division, it became a little more obvious why the former champ was granted his freedom. Henderson was never a huge draw for the company, despite the fact that he hung around the top of its most competitive weight class for years. The fact that his fast-paced, go-for-broke style morphed into a more conservative, grinding approach couldn’t have helped his case either.

This is all assuming that Henderson even wanted to remain in the UFC.

We’ve heard from plenty of fighters about their distaste for the UFC’s apparel deal. Could this really be at the heart of Henderson’s decision to move on from the UFC? Company president Dana White said his group’s offer would have been more substantial than Henderson’s Bellator deal if “Smooth” was somehow able to perch himself back atop a division.

I know there are probably a lot of variables to consider, but White’s statement that the “upfront money” was the determining factor makes for some fun speculation. Was it the guaranteed payday, rather than Henderson hoping he could somehow get the pay-per-view points back, that swayed him into Viacom’s waiting arms? It would be hard to argue with that logic.

I certainly hope we hear a little bit more about the negotiations in the coming days. I think it could be educational for other athletes who are thinking about fighting out their contracts. Henderson’s manager, Malki Kawa, has two other clients looking to leverage their free agency after completing their UFC pacts. Both Alistair Overeem and Aljamain Sterling are attempting to cash in after heading into the marketplace with impressive wins in late 2015.

Kawa has spoken with Bellator about Sterling, an undefeated bantamweight out of New York who was very vocal about the lack of promotion he received from the UFC before he finished up his deal in December. It might also stand to reason Bellator boss Scott Coker would want to bring Overeem back under his umbrella after the tandem shared a successful run in Coker’s previous promotion, Strikeforce.

Is there a pattern developing here? I guess we’re all going to have to wait and see.

As far as Henderson is concerned, he should have plenty of opportunities to shine in his new home. If he is set on staying at welterweight, then Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Michael Page and Douglas Lima all pose their own threats to a potential “Smooth” title reign. The lightweight division has solid options, too, with Will Brooks, Michael Chandler and Josh Thomson in the fold.

With all the talk of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones being potential multi-division champions, I can’t help but think Henderson’s name should be added to that list. He could very well be both the Bellator lightweight and welterweight champion by the end of 2016.

This looks like a win-win deal for Henderson and his new organization. The fighter has a home where he’ll likely be promoted as one of the company’s bigger stars. Bellator has added a legitimate top-five lightweight who is well-known to their target audience.

I’m also pretty sure the UFC is alright with how this one turned out. Whether Henderson can induce some remorse with his performance remains to be seen. It should be a fun year for the former champ as he sets out in search of more gold.

Weekly Mailbag

In other news, starting this week, I will be doing a mailbag column once a week. I’d love to hear your questions and comments on all things MMA and anything else you’d like to hear me opine on. I’ve been around this sport for almost 18 years now and am hoping to draw upon that experience to give our readers a glimpse behind the curtain whenever and however I can.

Feel free to reach out, either by email or Twitter, by Wednesday afternoon each week. I’ll do my best to get your questions into my Thursday column. I look forward to interacting with our loyal readers in a much greater capacity going forward.

Greg Savage is the Executive Editor of Sherdog.com and can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.