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Benson Henderson has heaped praise on his opponent Usman Nurmagomedov.
The former UFC champion took on Usman Nurmagomedov at the main event of last weekend's Bellator 292. Henderson was aiming to become the Bellator lightweight champion, but his night was cut short by Nurmagomedov.
Henderson was dropped by Usman Nurmagomedov in the first round itself after a vicious question mark kick. The champion was quick to hop on Henderson's back for a submission and ended up winning the bout via a rear-naked choke.
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Henderson recently sat down for an interview with Arien Helwani to talk about the loss. During the interview, he drew comparisons between Usman Nurmagomedov and submission legend Demian Maia. While suggesting that not many people have the ability to hop on his back and submit him, Henderson stated:
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"He's pretty good. Not too many people are able to hop on my back and finish me. Demian Maia was on my back for 15 minutes or so. He did a good job, he had a good question mark kick, pretty advanced technique."
Watch Henderson speak about Usman Nurmagomedov's skills below:
Benson Henderson announces retirement following loss to Usman Nurmagomedov
As mentioned earlier, Benson Henderson suffered a submission loss at the hands of Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292 last weekend. Following the bout, the former UFC lightweight champion, who boasts a professional record of 30-12, announced that he is going to retire from the sport of MMA.
Benson Henderson is set to go down as one of the best lightweights in the world with a long resume of accolades, with wins over fighters like Frankie Edgar, Josh Thomson, Nate Diaz, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Donald Cerrone, and Patricio Freire.
During the post-fight interview inside the cage, Henderson reflected back on his career and announced his retirement by leaving his gloves inside the cage:
"To the whole world, thank you guys for all the love and all the support throughout my career. I always told myself... If I lose at all in these last four fights [in Bellator], then it's about that time. I've had a nice long run, and I've done a lot of great things... Thank you to everybody around the world."
Watch the full post-fight interview below:
