DAMN! They Were Good: Remembering the ‘Smooth’ career of Benson Henderson

DAMN! They Were Good celebrates the careers of the most exciting and influential fighters in MMA history, and on the third episode of 2023, the MMA Fighting crew remembers the best of former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson.

Beginning his career in 2006, Henderson quickly made a name for himself as one of the most dynamic and exciting fighters in MMA, participating in both the 2009 and 2010 Fights of the Year. Those fights, both in the WEC, set up his most memorable career run, where he served as the UFC lightweight champion from 2012 to 2013, defending the title three times. After losing his belt to Anthony Pettis in 2013, Henderson remained a going concern in the UFC lightweight and welterweight divisions before becoming one of the first major free agents to depart the UFC and head to Bellator, where he would spend the rest of his career, challenging for titles on three separate occasions.

One of the lightweight division’s many overlooked champions, Henderson’s 17-year career came to an end earlier this month when he retired after losing the Usman Nurmagomedov in the first round of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix. So to honor the man affectionately dubbed “Smooth,” host Jed Meshew is joined by MMAFighting’s Shaheen Al-Shatti and Mike Heck to remember their favorite moments from his incredible career.

New episodes of the DAMN! They Were Good podcast come out monthly and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. This week’s episode can be heard below.