Why Benson Henderson couldn't finish fights?

he has 13 (12 legit ones) finishes and 14 decisions. You okay bro? that means almost half his wins come via finish. i get he wasnt THE MOST exciting but lets not go over the top here lol.
 
The toothpick in his mouth distracted him. Also too busy thinking about how he’s going to thank Jesus in his post fight while we cringe.

That said, Bendo is a very underrated LW. Physical specimen, savage leg kicks, dominant wrestling. He was a hard guy to beat for a while. His style was just more conducive to dominant decisions.
 
Benson was super well rounded.. But not a one shot KO guy and not really a volume style striker.

Also, Benson had been facing the very top fighters in the world from the end of his WEC time until he left the UFC... Top 5 guys are hard to finish.

Almost impossible to submit... So good JJ and wrestling.. But not a submission specialist himself..... Not a ferocious GNP guy, but had pretty good control and did not L&P... Busy on the ground but not particularly destructive.
 
Didn’t have much power and was a back pedal striker. Also his ground game was mostly wrestling and control. Basically took the gsp approach. Kill with cardio and pressure
 
He's looked terrible in the few fights I've seen him in Bellator.
 
He had that toothpick in his mouth.
 
Because he’s just a bang average dude
 
He got guillotines on Cerrone and Varner.
Also RNC on Khabilov and Thatch.

Those are very good finishes.

I thought he may have ended up losing decisions to Khabilov and Varner, so props to him for getting the tap in those fights.
 
Lawrence said:
Benson was super well rounded.. But not a one shot KO guy and not really a volume style striker.

.
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In some ways, he's a lot like Rory. Very well-rounded, but no "super powers" (such as 1-punch KO power, Maia-like BJJ and submissions, GSP-level MMA wrestling, etc.).
 
mkt said:
In some ways, he's a lot like Rory. Very well-rounded, but no "super powers" (such as 1-punch KO power, Maia-like BJJ and submissions, GSP-level MMA wrestling, etc.).
Click to expand...

Agree.

Benson was super quick when at his best... Usually guys like that have some leverage for power with hands, but Benson really never got his hips into his shots... I hate to call a Champion and all time great an 'arm puncher,' but the more I think about it the better it fits.

I also think Benson's decline was more attributable to his loss of total focus on MMA,,, He is a very busy guy with other things nowadays... Family/Community/Church... Not a knock... He's not snorting coke and whoring
 
Bendo in his prime could give Khabib a lot of problems.

He finished his buddy Rustam.

 
SexyBaroni said:
Bendo in his prime could give Khabib a lot of problems.

He finished his buddy Rustam.

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I was just thinking about this... !!!!

Khabib v Prime Benson in a 5 rounder might be very interesting.

They have a thing in common in that Khabib is super strong and dominates on the ground... But he does not really do that much damage early in fights for the most part... He chips away.... Bensons excellent wrestling and defensive BJJ might really give him a chance in the late rounds.

Sad that we will never see it.
 
Lawrence said:
Agree.

Benson was super quick when at his best... Usually guys like that have some leverage for power with hands, but Benson really never got his hips into his shots... I hate to call a Champion and all time great an 'arm puncher,' but the more I think about it the better it fits.

I also think Benson's decline was more attributable to his loss of total focus on MMA,,, He is a very busy guy with other things nowadays... Family/Community/Church... Not a knock... He's not snorting coke and whoring
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Yep, and around the time he left the UFC, he was seriously considering enlisting in the military. he really hasn't been the same since he lost his belt to Pettis in their rematch. Prime Bendo would've beaten Chandler and Freire, IMO, but in typical non-dominant decision wins.
 
Lawrence said:
I was just thinking about this... !!!!

Khabib v Prime Benson in a 5 rounder might be very interesting.

They have a thing in common in that Khabib is super strong and dominates on the ground... But he does not really do that much damage early in fights for the most part... He chips away.... Bensons excellent wrestling and defensive BJJ might really give him a chance in the late rounds.

Sad that we will never see it.
Click to expand...

That's true, although an older Josh Thomson with a broken hand gave Bendo all he could handle, wrestling-wise. I think Khabib is on a different level, but we'll never find out. I do think Bendo would last 5 rounds with Khabib, though, and put up a decent fight.
 
tenniswhiz said:
He got guillotines on Cerrone and Varner.
Also RNC on Khabilov and Thatch.

Those are very good finishes.

I thought he may have ended up losing decisions to Khabilov and Varner, so props to him for getting the tap in those fights.
Click to expand...

True, but 2 of those fights were in the WEC. Like Aldo, Benson was more willing to take risks and go for finishes in his younger WEC days. It took him 10 UFC fights before he finished anyone. And his only finish in the last 4 years was Roger Huerta...who's also been finished by a ton of unknown guys in small orgs.
 
He's fought an extremely high level of competition.

The better question is why he's won so many decisions he should have lost (except Cerrone, where he got robbed.)
 
I remember in one of his post-fight interviews, after another decision, in the middle of a decision streak that ended up being record breaking, he said "I finish fights!!". What?? Maybe it was just a shout out for KenFlo?
 
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