Dana White: 'Great guy' Benson Henderson got 'right deal for him'

[Wild]

MMAjunkie spoke to White about the situation and the respect was returned. He also said that the UFC could have matched the offer from Bellator, but chose not to.

“The truth is we made him an offer that would have paid him substantially more – like not even in the same ballpark – than he’s getting now if he were to become world champion again, but he chose their deal, which offered more up front,” White said. “He’s a former world champion who’s ranked No. 15 now. We’re looking for top-5 guys, guys that are going from 15 to 1, not the other way around.

“But I’m honestly happy for Benson. I’m not angry. Who knows? This could be the last contract he ever signs. He got the right deal for him. He’s a great guy, and we wish him all the best.”

LINK: Dana White: 'Great guy' Benson Henderson got 'right deal for him' in move to Bellator

 

[teamquestnorth]

I knew there would be a back handed compliment in there somewhere

 

[Sweets]

than he’s getting now if he were to become world champion again, but he chose their deal, which offered more up front,”

Sooooo, he get's a bonus on becoming champion, paid by the people who make championship fights??

Seems legit.

 

[Wild]

I knew there would be a back handed compliment in there somewhere

Lol yep.

 

[Ceiling Fan]

"He's a great guy"..."but he was never my friend."

 

[Wild]

"He's a great guy"..."but he was never my friend."

THIS is how you make an entrance people. Take some fucking notes.

 

[lookoutawhale]

"Benson is on his way down... but hes a great guy. I'm not mad, I'm happy for him."

oh Dana..

 

[Silverball]

He's ranked #15 at lightweight and #13 at welterweight, both of which are meaningless due to the UFC's incompetent ranking system, and not representative of where Bendo would actually be ranked by most hardcore fans and journalists.

 

[maurice]

"He’s a former world champion who’s ranked No. 15 now. We’re looking for top-5 guys, guys that are going from 15 to 1, not the other way around."

That's extremely disingenuous. He went from #1 at 155 to #13 at 170. It's not like the UFC developed 14 LWs who passed him by.

His losses are to the current LW champ, the previous LW champ, and a odd decision against a guy he previously beat twice. He's undefeated since switching to WW.

 

[ECC170]

in other words..if he would've jumped through our hoops,won every fight, get,that Measly reebok money he would've made a lot more...Guarantee he is getting more per fight than with zuffa..yea if you offer a guy a 8 fight contract he can make more money...idk if that was the offer just saying, I,bet they wanted a x amount of fights and if he kept winning it would go up..as opposed. to the guaranteed money from Bellator

 

[Fattiecorpuscle]

I knew there would be a back handed compliment in there somewhere

Came in here to see what kind of tasty tidbits of snark we'd be getting from ol' Whitey, and I was not disappointed.

Good for Benson, he deserves to make more, and someone like him going over on a win, and still with plenty of momentum, can (hopefully) spell a change in terms of the competitiveness of the top tier MMA landscape, which will allow fighters to start making more overall.

 

[Ted Williams' head]

“The truth is we made him an offer that would have paid him substantially more – like not even in the same ballpark – than he’s getting now if he were to become world champion again, but he chose their deal, which offered more up front,” White said.

What kind of deal is that? "We'll pay you more money.... if you manage to become champion again. What a fucking crap shoot that is. Good for Bendo taking the guaranteed money.

 

[Pitbull9]

I knew there would be a back handed compliment in there somewhere

Yup what a fucking piece of shit

 

[Splinty]

“The truth is we made him an offer that would have paid him substantially more – like not even in the same ballpark – than he’s getting now if he were to become world champion again, but he chose their deal, which offered more up front,” White said. “He’s a former world champion who’s ranked No. 15 now. We’re looking for top-5 guys, guys that are going from 15 to 1, not the other way around.

Selling the pipe dream. You just confirmed that you will tell this for other guys to screw off.

There is confirmation of the UFC pay model. No more guessing needed.

It's McDonalds. Come on start working at the fryer, one day you too can own the bunch of franchises.

Thing is, fighters have a finite amount of time, and they're beating their bodies up for that time.

In Dana's own words, 80% of Fighters they target to sign with the UFC would be better off going somewhere else.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

love me some Bendo.

hate me some UFC

so this works out all around imo

 

[Fattiecorpuscle]

I'm actually surprised by the lack of value the UFC put on Benson. He's a former (and definitely a potential future) Champion of the organization. He's still got plenty of upside IMO. He's a company guy. He takes risks in terms of accepting fights where people don't give him much chance (a la his entrance in to the WW division) and actually proves everyone wrong with his performances. He's very hungry. He's a clean, positive role model. He's one of the greatest fighters active today.

I don't know, I really hope Bellator treats him the way he's meant to be treated.

 

[Wild]

Selling the pipe dream. You just confirmed that you will tell this for other guys to screw off.

There is confirmation of the UFC pay model. No more guessing needed.

It's McDonalds. Come on start working at the fryer, one day you too can own the bunch of franchises.

Thing is, fighters have a finite amount of time, and they're beating their bodies up for that time.

In Dana's own words, 80% of Fighters they target to sign with the UFC would be better off going somewhere else.

Been arguing it for years. The top 5% at Zuffa do very well. The next 45% are able to live middle class lifestyles. The bottom 50% are working a second job or forced to find other ways to make ends meet (teaching classes, cleaning the gym, etc). That's their pay structure in a nut shell. Then add the Reebok deal into things. It kills the 95% that aren't at the top, because they were supplementing a healthy portion of their incomes thru individual sponsors. For most, that is now gone. Now take into account gym fees, management fees, training expenses, travel expenses, having to pay more for quality foods & supplements, taxes.

What's the incentive to fight for Zuffa?

 

[bully4me]

I think this is good for Bendo, I also think he can be a two Division Champion in Bellator. I also think at this time Henderson will never be a Champion in the UFC again and with their pay structure (which is all based on wins and performance to climb up the rankings) this is certainly the right move. If anyone read Ben's statement there was no smashing of the UFC and Ben did thank them for everything. Perhaps this was an amicable split and the right decision for everyone involved. Not saying the UFC pay scale is right and doesn't have some serious problems for lower and mid tier fighters. I am saying that it is nice to see Ben had options and is making more cash. We're seeing more negotiations with fighters testing the waters and it does seam to be working better than ever. Still in it's infancy phase, but at least it's happening, which can hopefully help all fighters as time goes on. Congrats Ben Henderson !!

 

[Yossarian]

I am sure his response was muted, during the lawsuit and all. Still managed to sound like a dick though.

 

[Shy Guy]

Haha..he is 15 because he is fighting in 2 divisions and your rankings are shit. Benson could still be a world champion.

 

[Ministry of Silly Walks]

what a tool. i wonder how much "substantially more" is. look at how the weight classes are jammed up. he couldn't even get a title shot for a good while.
i can't believe the goof put this out there. that has to look bad to all fighters.

 

[Jehannum]

I knew there would be a back handed compliment in there somewhere

we would be wondering why the UFC didn't make a big offer to Benson Henderson to keep him on the roster if nothing was said

imo

 

[Yossarian]

Haha..he is 15 because he is fighting in 2 divisions and your rankings are shit. Benson could still be a world champion.

Exactly, there is zero logic to their ranking system. And still they pick and choose contenders. He is 15 because they put him there.

 

[Demonic Cruz]

He got let go for the same reason Yushin did, he was never going to be champ again and he puts fans to sleep. Stop complaining about every god damn thing Dana says like a bunch of bitches. People want to know his thoughts on the matter and Dana said the truth in the best way that was as complimentary to Benson as he could.

I'm not Dana and I don't have to be complimentary to Benson so I'll just tell the truth. 'Smooth' was GSP Jr. with more recent/numerous losses and every god damn time he played it safer than Norelco. That shit comes around to bite you in the ass when you lose that belt. I never if rarely ever skip fight cards (even when there's a boring fighter headlining and I say no thanks) but when I do it's because that boring fighter is Benson Henderson.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Dana is a fucking scumbag.