B. Henderson (photo) left the top 10 pound for pound in the UFC. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Originally, Benson Henderson was scheduled to face Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 59, on January 18, in Boston (USA). However, Alvarez became ill in the final stretch of his preparation, so he was cut from the fight. The UFC acted quickly and appointed him as a replacement Donald Cerrone, who had fought a few days before and defeated Myles Jury at UFC 182. Henderson found out about all this much later, and was notified in a curious way: the person who told him about the fight was Cerrone himself.
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Henderson said he was about to enter a training session when he received an SMS on his cell phone. “I didn't know until 'Caubói' texted me. The UFC didn't warn me, they didn't ask me anything. They didn't say anything. In fact, the 'Cowboy' came up to me and said, 'Hey, man, nothing personal. It's just business. It's all love,' and I was like, 'Oh, man, sure. I don't know what you're talking about, but ok. Definitely, whatever'”, said Henderson, in an interview with the North American website “MMA Fighting”.
However, Henderson said he was not upset by the episode, as he would accept the fight anyway, regardless of who it was against. "I don't mind. Anyone in the lightweight division, anytime, anywhere. I don't mind. I'm as confident as any other fighter on the planet, if I'm not more confident,” said the former champion.
The fight will mark the trilogy between the two, as Henderson has already defeated Cerrone on two occasions, still at the now defunct WEC event. The main fight of UFC Fight Night 59 will be in the featherweight division, between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver.
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