Henderson (1-0) last competed for Bellator MMA as an amateur, but despite some time away — she made her pro debut under the LFA banner — the whole experience has become familiar to the strawweight.

“Bellator’s like calm with my husband being there. I know the all the people, I know how it’s run, I know how it works so it’s kind of just like jumping back in the gym,” she told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview.

And so with that in mind, there are no jitters heading into pro fight #2 for Henderson. “No nerves, really. If anything we’re just excited. All those nerves turn into excitement. Excited to get to do this, excited it’s finally getting going for me and my kids get to see the hard work I put in, and see why I’m not home all the time. So it’s just exciting, no nerves.”

And yes, as noted, Maria Henderson is wife of UFC and WEC lightweight champ Benson Henderson, a Bellator contender who retired earlier this month.

Believe it or not, Henderson wasn’t expecting her partner to call it a career, though at least in part that was due to her faith in him winning his Lightweight Grand Prix fight with the formidable Usman Nurmagomedov.

“I don’t think any of us thought he was going to lose. I think nine out of ten times he beats Usman, Usman just had a great night, a great moment that led to another great moment,” Maria explained. “And that’s what MMA is all about, those moments. If you can capitalize in those moments, that’s it.”

“None of us thought Ben was going to lose, so I didn’t know he was going to retire. I knew after he lost, I knew as soon as I saw what his hands were doing, I knew what was gonna happen, but I wasn’t expecting him to retire this week.”

It’s been hard, thus far, to separate Maria Henderson and her famous husband. Headlines surrounding her often trumpet Maria as “Benson Henderson’s wife,” but she’s now carrying the flag for the family in active competition— and believes Bellator sees something more in her than just a recognizable last name.

“Win or lose, you want a great performance. So that’s what I want for this year, is a great performance. Is every single performance great. To prove to everybody, to Bellator, I’m not just Ben Henderson’s wife. Because I think that’s how people see me, but I don’t have enough behind me for Bellator to sign me for that reason. I think they see something in me, see a great performer, see someone who can bring in some new fresh eyes, and that’s why they signed me, and I want to prove that if that makes sense.”

Being looked at through the lens of her husband’s career is nothing new, mind you. “Even in just jiu-jitsu, I think it was a girl had posted, ‘oh Ben Henderson’s wife beat me.’ And I was like ‘Ben Henderson didn’t beat you.’ I didn’t start training because of my husband. We met in training. so I do think it’s a little bit of a back-and-forth kind of battle. I’m proud to have my husband’s name, I’m proud of my husband, I’m proud to be married to him, and I think that will paint a huge target on my back for the rest of my career.”

That said, Maria Henderson told Cageside Press that the family name does not bring added pressure with it. “All in all there’s no pressure. I’m just grateful for the opportunity I’m given. [Benson]’s given me a great, not view but a layout, a map of what it takes to be great. I know what it takes, I know what it looks like at home to be great, I know what it looks like in character, mentally, in the gym. If you lost every single round in your camp, it doesn’t mean you need to tear yourself down. It doesn’t matter. In camp, in training, you can lose every single day, but you want to perform and be great in the cage. And so I do think it’s going to create a target on my back, but I do think that the pressure that the people think that ‘oh no she’s going to be so over-pressured, blah blah blah,’ I don’t think that’s there.”

“There’s a lot of people who don’t get to do what they want to do because of other things,” she added later, “and my husband’s built a really good life for us, and I get to start making my dreams come true now. So more just grateful, no pressure.”

Against Mackenzie Stiller, who carries the nickname “MacJudo,” Henderson has an idea of what to expect, and has considered what might happen if the pair wound up in a stand-up battle.

“We’ll see. I actually thought that would be pretty interesting to see. All of her fights, she’s rushed in to the clinch right away to try to take her girls down,” Henderson noted.

That said, “I don’t think jiu-jitsu-wise we’re going to cancel out, I do think I’m superior in that aspect,” Henderson suggested. “I think I will be superior on the ground; I’m biased but I think I’m very good on the ground, and it’s where I shine. And if it’s something she wants to bring a fight to, then even better for me. If we’re gonna be scrappy and stuff like that, I’m going to shine way brighter than her in that aspect.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator 293’s Maria Henderson above. The event takes place Friday, March 31, 2023 in Temecula, CA.

The post Bellator 293: Maria Henderson on Benson’s Retirement, Being More Than His Wife appeared first on Cageside Press.

In a press release distributed Tuesday, promotion officials announced that Joey Davis (8-0), Maria Henderson (1-0), Lance Gibson Jr. (7-0), Lucas Brennan (7-0), and Sullivan Cauley (5-0) had all been added to the event.

In addition, a previously announced match-up between Jay Jay Wilson (9-1) and Mandel Nallo (9-2, 1 NC) has been called off due to injury.

Gibson Jr., son of UFC vet Lance Gibson Sr. and stepson of former Bellator women’s featherweight champ Julia Budd will be getting a solid step up in competition against Team Fedor’s Vladimir Tokov (8-2), brother of recent middleweight title challenger Anatoly Tokov.

Henderson, wife of former WEC and UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson, who fights for the Bellator MMA lightweight title next month, meets MacKenzie Stiller. Stiller will be making her pro debut in the bout, after going 4-0 as an amateur.

Sullivan Cauley gets a fellow top light heavyweight prospect in Luke Trainer (6-1). Joey “Black Ice” Davis, meanwhile, returns against Jeff Creighton (6-2-1). Dangerous as ever on the ground, Lucas Brennan meets Josh San Diego (9-4).

A battle of undefeated bantamweight prospects has also been pencilled in for Bellator 293. That fight sees Bryce Meredith (3-0) face off with Brandon Carrillo (1-0).

Bellator 293 is headlined by a heavyweight bout featuring former UFC athlete Marcelo Golm (10-3), ranked No. 7 in the division, against No. 8-ranked Daniel James (14-6-1). In the co-main event, what is expected to be a women’s featherweight title eliminator sees Cat Zingano (13-4) take on Leah McCourt (7-2).

Set for the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA on March 31, 2023, the Bellator 293 card features the following reported match-ups:

• Marcelo Golm vs. Daniel James
• Cat Zingano vs. Leah McCourt
• John Salter vs. Aaron Jeffrey
• Rustam Khabilov vs. Jaleel Willis
• Sullivan Cauley vs. Luke Trainer
• Archie Colgan vs. Justin Montalvo
• Joey Davis vs. Jeff Creighton
• Lucas Brennan vs. Josh San Diego
• Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Vladimir Tokov
• Pam Sorenson vs. Sara Collins
• Christian Edwards vs. Rakim Cleveland
• Mike Hamel vs. Nick Browne
• Randi Field vs. Ashley Cummins
• Bryce Meredith vs. Brandon Carrillo
• Maria Henderson vs. MacKenzie Stiller
• Khonry Gracie vs. David Pacheco

The post Bellator 293 Adds Several Undefeated Prospects, Multiple Fights Announced appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Smooth” was featured later in the evening, on the main card. Maria Henderson took part in an amateur flyweight scrap, the second fight of her young career. After a wee bit of adversity, she earned the submission win just 40 seconds into the fight with Collette Santiago.

There was no added pressure, no stress from sharing the card, Henderson (2-0 AMMA) said following her win.

“Ben trusts me to go in there and get the job done, and I did. And I trust him to do the same thing,” she told media outlets including Cageside Press. “So it’s not really stressful for either one of us to kind of be here together with each other. It’s almost better; you release serotonin, you release oxytocin being with each other.”

After such a quick win, a short turnaround might be in order, it was suggested. “Well, if Bellator wants to give me another opportunity— whatever is presented to us, that’s when we’ll take it,” Henderson replied.

As for her husband’s thoughts on the fight, “he said that was perfect,” Henderson revealed. “Couldn’t have done any better. He said it was perfect, that’s exactly what we wanted to do in there, go in there and finish it.”

Asked about a possible pro turn, Henderson told Cageside Press it was up to her coach and husband. “It depends on what [John] Crouch and Ben say. Obviously this was a really good performance, but they might want me to get a little bit more experience.” Arizona also requires a certain amount of amateur fights before turning pro, she added, although her first fight didn’t even come in Arizona. “I don’t know what the regulations are for that. We’ll have to see what that is, and go from there.”

Watch the full Bellator 268 post-fight press scrum with Maria Henderson above. More coverage can be found below.

The post Maria Henderson Discusses Turning Pro, Bellator 268 Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

The main event is not the fight fans wanted to see. But with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson forced out of the tournament, alternate Julius Anglickas finds himself in Daniel Cormier territory against champ Vadim Nemkov. The title will be on the line in that semifinal; like Cormier did a decade ago, Anglickas is hoping to use a grand prix as a springboard to greatness.

The second light heavyweight grand prix semifinal will set up what is expected to be an explosive finale. Former 205lb and current heavyweight champ Ryan Bader will face off against fellow UFC alum Corey Anderson, with a shot at gold hanging in the balance.

The nights other fights look solid as well. Nick Browne, an LFA lightweight champ, gets a step up. Flyweight prospect Sumiko Inaba returns, Benson Henderson goes up against ex-champ Brent Primus, and Henderson’s wife, Maria, faces Collette Santiago in an amateur bout.

Weigh-ins for the event go down Friday; Cageside Press will be on hand in Phoenix to bring you the results.

Bellator 268: Nemkov vs. Anglickas Weigh-In Results

Main event

Light Heavyweight: Vadim Nemkov (204.7) (c) vs. Julius Anglickas (204)
Light Heavyweight: Ryan Bader (204.1) vs. Corey Anderson (203.7)
Lightweight: Benson Henderson (155.5) vs. Brent Primus (155.4)
Featherweight: Henry Corrales (145.6)  vs. Vladyslav Parubchenko (145.4)

Preliminary card

Light Heavyweight: Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (205.4) vs. Karl Albrektsson (204.1)
Light Heavyweight: Sullivan Cauley (205.2) vs. Deon Clash (204.2)
Lightweight: Nick Browne (155.3) vs. Bobby Lee (156.8)*
Middleweight: Javier Torres (184.3) vs. Gregory Milliard (184.6)
Women’s Flyweight: Sumiko Inaba (124.9) vs. Randi Field (125.9)
Lightweight: Raymond Pina (154.6) vs. Lance Gibson Jr. (155.5)
Bantamweight: Raphael Montini (135) vs. Jaylon Bates (135)
Welterweight: Mukhamed Berkhamov (170.7)  vs. Jaleel Willis (169.9)

Amateur bouts

Women’s Flyweight: Collette Santiago (126) vs. Maria Henderson (123.7)

* Lee missed weight by 0.8lbs for his fight with Nick Browne

The post Bellator 268: Nemkov vs. Anglickas Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Fighting on the same card? That’s a little more rare. But that’s exactly what Benson Henderson and wife Maria will be doing at Bellator 268 this weekend.

Henderson (Benson, that is) will be facing Brent Primus in a key lightweight match-up. Much earlier on the card, Maria will compete in an amateur fight to kick off the event.

“No, no added pressure that she’s on the card. Just another fight,” Henderson told Cageside Press at Thursday’s Bellator 268 media day. “Every fight, doesn’t matter what the extra circumstances [are], the extra this, the extra— the first time that, the first time this, if your fighting career goes the path that you want it to go, you’ll be excited because it’s your first fight ever. Now you’re excited because it’s your first pro fight. Oh, now it’s your first time on the main card. Now it’s your first this, it’s your first that. There’s always going to be a new this, a new that to be excited for. You can’t necessarily see it that way. Every fight is the fight of your life. The next fight is the fight of your life that’s going to prove everything, that’s going to make it worthwhile.”

That’s regardless of whether the fight is in the back of a 7-11, or a small rinky dink arena. “The next fight in front of you is the fight of your life. That’s how it is for me.”

Maria sees no issues with it either.

“I think my husband trusts me to go get work done. He sees me in the gym a lot, he sees that I’m ok with being mean to other people. So I think he trusts me enough to where we can be on the same card. Maybe someone else doesn’t necessarily have that same sort of confidence in their relationship, but we do. We’ve been training with each other for a really long time and we know what each other is capable of. He’s getting his work done, I’m getting my work done, that’s kind of how we’re seeing it. His thing, my thing, just the same night.”

Benson is slated to take on former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus (10-2) on the main card while Maria takes on Collette Santiago (0-1) in the prelims.

Watch the full Bellator 268 media scrum with Benson and Maria Henderson above.

The post Husband and Wife Duo Benson and Maria Henderson Discuss Competing on Same Card appeared first on Cageside Press.