I mean, I am speaking as a genuine fan here. He's had a storied career and has won the UFC belt and has established a reputation as being one of the great examples of a guy who will fight anytime anywhere and whom you can trust will fight when the UFC says he's gonna fight.
And yet I just don't see that he has ever gotten anywhere close to the majority of the MMA community behind him. Many, possibly most, of his detractors seem to think his title reign was perhaps the most illegitimate one in UFC history with at least one defense that should not count as a win for Benson. Many seem to think he cheated and faked his way to the UFC LW title int he first placer and should not even be counted as former LW champion. On more than one Benson thread you can read comments that at the very least imply they feel that.
Many feel his true MMA record is a rather unimpressive 16-10 since they feel that there are 5 fights he has officially won that count as genuine losses since there was no way he actually won.
And tonight showed the possibility that the top tier of MMA has now passed him by, just like it eventually does for any guy who was once at the top. If that's the case, it is most likely that he'll end up losing two more fights or so and then end up leaving MMA. And then he will be remembered by a large chunk of the MMA community as something of a fraud in this sport due to the decision wins he stole from his opponents.
And I am a genuine Benson who has always been fine with his expressions of faith, his thanking of Jesus, the "Can I get an Amen", all that. And I'm also a fan for the same reasons I'm a Cerrone fan. And so i do not like at all that he will be remembered this way but I fear that much of the MMA fanbase will remember it this way and so I feel a lot of sympathy and empathy for Benson since I fear that his legacy will be quite bad in spite of all the work he's put into this sport. Perhaps I'm exaggerating it a little but I don't feel good about how he will be remembered.
And yet I just don't see that he has ever gotten anywhere close to the majority of the MMA community behind him. Many, possibly most, of his detractors seem to think his title reign was perhaps the most illegitimate one in UFC history with at least one defense that should not count as a win for Benson. Many seem to think he cheated and faked his way to the UFC LW title int he first placer and should not even be counted as former LW champion. On more than one Benson thread you can read comments that at the very least imply they feel that.
Many feel his true MMA record is a rather unimpressive 16-10 since they feel that there are 5 fights he has officially won that count as genuine losses since there was no way he actually won.
And tonight showed the possibility that the top tier of MMA has now passed him by, just like it eventually does for any guy who was once at the top. If that's the case, it is most likely that he'll end up losing two more fights or so and then end up leaving MMA. And then he will be remembered by a large chunk of the MMA community as something of a fraud in this sport due to the decision wins he stole from his opponents.
And I am a genuine Benson who has always been fine with his expressions of faith, his thanking of Jesus, the "Can I get an Amen", all that. And I'm also a fan for the same reasons I'm a Cerrone fan. And so i do not like at all that he will be remembered this way but I fear that much of the MMA fanbase will remember it this way and so I feel a lot of sympathy and empathy for Benson since I fear that his legacy will be quite bad in spite of all the work he's put into this sport. Perhaps I'm exaggerating it a little but I don't feel good about how he will be remembered.
