Former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, put his support behind current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in his ongoing contract dispute with the promotion.
Henderson spoke with reporters ahead of his fight with Islam Mamedov in the co-main event of tonight's Bellator 273 event and gave his thoughts on the current situation between Ngannou and the UFC.
“I think it’s smart for Francis to do it,” Henderson said (h/t MMA Fighting). “Certain people allow certain things to happen to them and they’re either okay with it, or not okay with it. It’s up to each person individually what you’re okay with accepting. Ngannou is not accepting this, he’s not accepting that, and I think it’s on him. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. I think it’s good. I think he needs to stand up for what he believes, for what he’s willing to accept, and for the amount of respect that he’s due. A lot of that respect comes down to money to him, and the UFC can show him that kind of respect, no problem. It would not be a big burden, ‘Oh, we’ve got to pay Ngannou. What does he want? $5 million? Oh no, we don’t have that kind of money.’ They’ve got that kind of money. So, yeah, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. It’s a good thing for him to go after what he wants.”
With 9️⃣ of his 2️⃣8️⃣ career wins coming by way of submission, it's safe to say @BensonHenderson will be on the hunt for a definitive W at #Bellator273.
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) January 19, 2022
See him LIVE when he faces @Islam__Mamedov on Saturday, January 29th at The @FootprintCNTR. --
-- https://t.co/CkHKGujJKr pic.twitter.com/Mit9chxlok
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