Benson Henderson (30-12, 14) was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. on November 16, 1983. At the age of 23 years on November 18, 2006, he made his professional MMA debut against Dan Gregary, winning the fight via 1st-round TKO.
On April 30, 2011, 27-year old Benson Henderson made his UFC debut on his 15th professional MMA fight at UFC 129 against a 29-year old Mark Bocek, winning the fight via 3-round unanimous decision.
He became the UFC lightweight champion on February 26, 2012 at age 28 on his 18th professional MMA fight at UFC 144 after defeating a 30-year old Frankie Edgar via 5-round unanimous decision.
Henderson's last fight was a 1st-round submission loss to Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292 at age 39 on March 10, 2023. He retired from the sport of MMA following this loss.
He has fought 14 times in the UFC, and has a record of 11 wins and 3 losses in the promotion.
Some of Benson Henderson's best fights have been against Donald Cerrone, Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Jamie Varner, Shane Roller and Patrício Pitbull.
Henderson has 12 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42  | Mar 10, 2023 39 years, 3 months 30-12 (14) | 24 years, 10 months 16-0 (13) | Bellator | LT | 1 | SUB | LOSS Rear-naked choke |
41  | Sep 23, 2022 38 years, 10 months 30-11 (14) | 37 years, 7 months 13-6-1 (3) | Bellator | WL | 5 | UD | WIN |
40 | Jan 29, 2022 38 years, 2 months 29-11 (14) | Islam Mamedov | Bellator | WL | 3 | SD | WIN |
39  | Oct 16, 2021 37 years, 11 months 28-11 (14) | 36 years, 6 months 10-2 (8) | Bellator | WL | 3 | UD | LOSS |
38  | Nov 19, 2020 37 years 28-10 (14) | 30 years 12-4 (7) | Bellator | WL | 3 | UD | LOSS |
37  | Aug 7, 2020 36 years, 8 months 28-9 (14) | 34 years, 3 months 20-5 (13) | Bellator | LT | 1 | KO | LOSS Punches |
36  | Sep 27, 2019 35 years, 10 months 28-8 (14) | 30 years, 10 months 17-4 (13) | Bellator | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
35  | Apr 27, 2019 35 years, 5 months 27-8 (14) | 30 years, 8 months 11-2 (7) | Bellator | LT | 3 | SD | WIN |
34  | Oct 13, 2018 34 years, 10 months 26-8 (14) | 35 years, 4 months 22-10 (16) | Bellator | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
33  | Apr 6, 2018 34 years, 4 months 25-8 (14) | 34 years, 10 months 24-9-1 (17) | Bellator | LT | 2 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke |
32 | Sep 23, 2017 33 years, 10 months 24-8 (13) | Patricky Pitbull | Bellator | LT | 3 | SD | LOSS |
31 | Nov 19, 2016 33 years 24-7 (13) | 30 years, 6 months 15-3 (12) | Bellator | LT | 5 | SD | LOSS For Bellator World lightweight title |
30  | Aug 26, 2016 32 years, 9 months 24-6 (13) | 29 years, 1 months 25-3 (19) | Bellator | LT | 2 | TKO | WIN Leg injury |
29  | Apr 22, 2016 32 years, 5 months 23-6 (12) | 25 years, 7 months 18-1 (13) | Bellator | WL | 5 | UD | LOSS For Bellator World welterweight title |
28  | Nov 28, 2015 32 years 23-5 (12) | 31 years 29-9 (13) | UFC | WL | 5 | SD | WIN |
27  | Feb 14, 2015 31 years, 2 months 22-5 (12) | 29 years, 7 months 11-1 (11) | UFC | WL | 4 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
26  | Jan 18, 2015 31 years, 2 months 21-5 (11) | 31 years, 9 months 26-6 (19) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | LOSS |
25  | Aug 23, 2014 30 years, 9 months 21-4 (11) | 29 years, 9 months 21-7 (11) | UFC | LT | 1 | KO | LOSS Punch |
24  | Jun 7, 2014 30 years, 6 months 21-3 (11) | 27 years, 7 months 17-1 (9) | UFC | LT | 4 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
23  | Jan 25, 2014 30 years, 2 months 20-3 (10) | 35 years, 4 months 20-5 (14) | UFC | LT | 5 | SD | WIN |
22  | Aug 31, 2013 29 years, 9 months 19-3 (10) | 26 years, 7 months 16-2 (13) | UFC | LT | 1 | SUB | LOSS Armbar Lost UFC lightweight title |
21  | Apr 20, 2013 29 years, 5 months 19-2 (10) | 31 years 21-2 (12) | UFC | LT | 5 | SD | WIN Defended UFC lightweight title |
20  | Dec 8, 2012 29 years 18-2 (10) | 27 years, 7 months 16-7 (13) | UFC | LT | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC lightweight title |
19  | Aug 11, 2012 28 years, 8 months 17-2 (10) | 30 years, 9 months 15-2-1 (6) | UFC | LT | 5 | SD | WIN Defended UFC lightweight title |
18 | Feb 26, 2012 28 years, 3 months 16-2 (10) | 30 years, 4 months 15-1-1 (6) | UFC | LT | 5 | UD | WIN Won UFC lightweight title |
17  | Nov 12, 2011 27 years, 11 months 15-2 (10) | 29 years, 11 months 29-11 (19) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
16  | Aug 14, 2011 27 years, 8 months 14-2 (10) | 27 years, 11 months 20-2 (14) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
15  | Apr 30, 2011 27 years, 5 months 13-2 (10) | 29 years, 6 months 9-3 (8) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
14 | Dec 16, 2010 27 years, 1 months 12-2 (10) | 23 years, 10 months 12-1 (11) | WEC | LT | 5 | UD | LOSS Lost WEC lightweight title |
13 | Apr 24, 2010 26 years, 5 months 12-1 (10) | 27 years 11-2 (10) | WEC | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke Defended WEC lightweight title |
12  | Jan 10, 2010 26 years, 1 months 11-1 (9) | 25 years, 2 months 16-2 (13) | WEC | LT | 3 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke Won WEC lightweight title |
11 | Oct 10, 2009 25 years, 10 months 10-1 (8) | 26 years, 6 months 10-1 (9) | WEC | LT | 5 | UD | WIN Won WEC lightweight title Interim |
10  | Apr 5, 2009 25 years, 4 months 9-1 (8) | 29 years, 8 months 5-1 (5) | WEC | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
9  | Jan 25, 2009 25 years, 2 months 8-1 (7) | 28 years, 10 months 9-1 (4) | WEC | 2 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke | |
8 | Oct 4, 2008 24 years, 10 months 7-1 (6) | Diego Saraiva | 3 | UD | WIN | ||
7  | Jul 25, 2008 24 years, 8 months 6-1 (6) | 25 years, 5 months 3-0 (3) | 2 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke | ||
6 | May 9, 2008 24 years, 5 months 5-1 (5) | Mike Maestas | 3 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | ||
5 | Dec 7, 2007 24 years 4-1 (4) | Bryan Corley | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | ||
4 | Jun 23, 2007 23 years, 7 months 3-1 (3) | David Dagloria | 1 | TKO | WIN Submission to punches | ||
3 | Mar 31, 2007 23 years, 4 months 2-1 (2) | Rocky Johnson | 1 | CKO | LOSS Anaconda choke | ||
2 | Feb 16, 2007 23 years, 3 months 2-0 (2) | Allen Williams | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | ||
1 | Nov 18, 2006 23 years 1-0 (1) | Dan Gregary | 1 | TKO | WIN Submission to punches |
