Benson Henderson
It's definitely a motivational factor, becoming a three-organization world champion.Collection: Motivational
I love to talk to kids and be a positive influence. It's good to hear about positive things and someone say 'do the right things' from someone other than their grandma or their mom.Collection: Positive
You want to raise good kids, but it doesn't happen in one day. You want to be a great fighter, but it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time.
If I keep on winning and keep putting the work in, then everything else falls into place.
There's a difference between being over something and learning to deal with it.
I lost in my junior year of college in the NAIA national semifinals in 2005 and I'm not over that. I got inside leg tripped by Jake Dieffenbach and failed to go to the national title match. I don't get over things.
It's about how much hard work you put in and who works harder - that's who wins the fights. The fight itself, when the cameras are there, that's your chance to show off and say, 'You millions of people around the world watching this, look what I can do!'
I've never been one of those guys who is going to hold out and wait for a title shot.
If you want the belt, you've got to fight everybody that lines up in front of you. You have to prove yourself by beating them anyways, so what does it matter if you beat them before you have the belt or after you have the belt?
You want to say you're the best on the planet? Well, prove it by beating this person and that person. Beat everybody.
I think competition is good. The world we live in, we're a capitalistic society and we're all about having options, so I think it's good.
I think unions are a good thing, but sometimes, not to get too political, but unions can go the wrong way, but the idea of unions are good, they're smart, they're positive for the average American in the workforce.
When I first started training Tae Kwon Do, it was more just for discipline. My brother and I were two knuckleheads and my mom being a single mother wanted us to get more discipline somewhere other than her yelling at us. But I had no visions at all or aspirations of going from Tae Kwon Do into mixed martial arts.
For sure I think the traditional martial arts is a good background to have and definitely allows me to do a lot different things inside the cage. My wrestling background definitely helps me out a lot, but I don't think either one led directly to MMA.
Fighting is hard, fighting is tough. You get beat up in the body. It's hard; it takes a toll on your body.
By the time I hit 33 I intend on retiring. I'm done after that.
I first decided that I could make a career of MMA after I decided to take it seriously and not act like a teenager in some band, but fully commit myself like a professional. Roughly, when I decided to up and move in the middle of the night from Omaha, Neb. to Denver, Colo. for proper training.
I like to think that I'm a pretty intelligent fighter and haven't underestimated any of my opponents.
People a lot of times have expectations for combinations, if you can throw something that they don't expect or throw something in a way that they don't expect it, it can be pretty successful.
A lot of my kicks are unique to MMA and the fight game in general. I wouldn't say that it's on purpose, but more because I've had success doing them and using them. I just use them more often.
Being able just to worry about what it is I do best, going in there and beating somebody up, getting my hand raised - that's what I really like doing.
Once you reach a certain point in your career, every fight is a new big fight, biggest fight of your life, biggest fight of your career.
Bellator is collecting talent, collecting world-level talent all across the board.
We live in a capitalistic society, don't we? Our country is based on the idea of the free market. Why not incorporate that free-market ideal into your career as a mixed martial artist?
I think it's smart to fight to the end of your contract and see what your worth is on the open market.
A loss is always frustrating.
Everybody I step in the cage against I have the utmost respect for.
Every fight is a close dogfight.
Sometimes, you go out there and get knocked out in the first seven seconds. That might be one out of 10 times, but that is why we fight.
My dream job growing up was to become a police officer.
I always wanted to help people. I graduated from college and applied to a couple of police departments, Omaha and Denver, because I liked Denver a lot. It turns out they liked me and accepted me right away. I got hired both places, but I wanted to try fighting.
The funny thing I thought was, no matter what, people talked bad about cops. But as soon as something bad happened, when their car got stolen, who was the first person they called? Police officers. They expected them to help out and take care of them to get their stolen car back, and they did. That, to me, was a pretty big thing.
The career span for athletes is very short-lived. So you aren't being, perhaps, the smartest person if you don't take care of your family when you're able to.
Whether you want more money, whether you want more fame, whether you want more attention, whether you want a bigger house, whether you want a bigger contract, whatever it is you want, you have to win your next fight. That's it.
At 170... I need to have a 97 percent performance. And some of the guys at 170, they need to have maybe an 85 percent performance. They need to not be at their best for me to beat them.
I think the mental aspect is important in all fights.
I just go out there and do what I do and the reason I think the Diaz's are so great, the reason they're so liked by fans and everybody - and I'm a fan of the Diaz brothers - is because they're real, they don't put on a show.
If it comes it comes. But you can't look for a finish. If you look for a home run ball you'll never hit the home run; if you look for a goal you'll never get it but if you play the game, if you play football and the guy that's open gives you a pass and you score the goal, that's when you score. That's when you get all the goals.
The bigger size of the weight class, guys are going to get tired a little bit quicker. They get tired to where they can't even keep their hands up in the fourth and fifth round.
All fighters are pretty confident by nature, that's just how we are.
I'm as confident as any fighter out there.
I'm not one of those guys that says something stupid just for the sake of getting more attention.
It's a long journey to become successful, and you learn to grow with it. You grow with the small steps you take.
I'm pretty low-key. I'm pretty boring, to be honest.
Public image can change at the drop of a hat. One person can be a national hero and a month later because he wore the wrong colour he's violently hated so it just all depends.
You lay the groundwork, stay on the grind, and then eventually you get those big huge national deals with TV stations that are seen worldwide.
Do you want to be famous, or do you want to have actual money to take care of your family down the line? I'd say it's a case by case call there. Some guys fight for different reasons. What do you fight for? Do you fight for this reason or for that reason.
Maybe Bellator would not be a great fit for this guy but would be for this guy. Maybe the UFC is a better call for this guy, but then Bellator is better for that guy. I don't think you can make a blanket statement and say that this organization is great for everybody compared to this organization. Take it case by case.
I'd say for sure though, read the fine print in the contract. Make sure after you defend your belt for however many times and then you lose, you're not making less money than a kid who had three fights in the UFC. That's a shame. That's laughable. That is a shame.
Just as fighters you have to be smart, you have to read the fine print in your contract and you have to do what's best for your family.