Benson Henderson on His Korean Heritage: ‘I Take a Lot of Pride in That’

On Saturday, Benson Henderson will walk out for the twelfth time under the Bellator MMA banner as he faces Islam Mamedov in the Bellator 273 co-headliner. For the first time in his long career, Henderson (28-11, 5-6 Bellator) is on a three-bout skid after dropping losses to Michael Chandler, Jason Jackson and Brent Primus. Still, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champ is more motivated than ever to get back into the win column. Ahead of his upcoming clash with Mamedov, “Smooth” discussed his Korean heritage on his mother’s side, which played a pivotal role in his upbringing. The Arizona-born fighter feels very proud to represent Korea all over the world.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Henderson told Sherdog. “For anybody to identify with you, to connect with you, and to say, ‘Hey, that’s my guy, he represents us, he represents me,’ that’s a big deal. That’s a very big deal. I don’t take it lightly. A lot of people can chalk it up like, ‘Oh, it’s okay, it’s no big deal, this and that,’ but for me, I take pride in that. I take pride that there are people out there, there are Koreans out there who connect with me, who take pride that I represent them, and they say, ‘Oh yeah, he’s a good representation of the Korean blood and this and that.’ That is a big honor for me, whether it’s the Korean side, whether the Phoenicians, whether it’s all my Nebraska family or my Denver family, whether it’s all my back home the 253 family, whether it’s the MMA community that [they’re proud of] me when I compete in a jujitsu match. Whatever it is, I take a lot of pride in the fact that there are people out there who appreciate me and say that I represent them.”

Henderson also discussed his recent losses, he shared his thoughts on the MMA career of his wife, Maria Henderson, and more.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:55) The Asian Hall of Fame
(01:57) Representing Korea
(04:45) His loss to Primus
(05:45) Being on a three-bout skid
(06:42) Watching his wife fighting in Bellator
(08:55) His matchup with Mamedov
(10:08) His pick for the Ryan Bader vs. Valentin Moldavsky clash
(10:40) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.