“I’d leave it in for fights”, former world champion Benson Henderson comes clean of shocking habit

Benson Henderson reveals the truth about his toothpick habit. He says that he just leave them in his fights.

“I’d leave it in for fights”, former world champion Benson Henderson comes clean of shocking habit

Benson Henderson (Image Courtesy - TMZ Sports)

Former UFC Champion Benson Henderson always had a unique relationship with toothpicks. He has been seen using it during a fight multiple times. He never revealed much about when he was an active fighter, but now that he has retired, he no longer feels coy about revealing the mystery of the toothpicks.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Henderson said, “For a lot of fights, I had the toothpick, yeah, for a lot of fights. It was just a bad habit. I would literally, like, go out to lunch or dinner or breakfast, whatever — you know, you have the toothpicks from the restaurant. I would just forget I have it in, I would practice, I would do whatever. I’d leave it in for fights.”

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Defending his Lightweight title against Nate Diaz was the first time fans and media saw the toothpick emerge. After that, it pretty much popped up here and there throughout Henderson’s career. He held the WEC Lightweight title and the UFC Lightweight championship at one point in his career.

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Benson Henderson has notable victories over Donald Cerrone, Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, Jim Miller, Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal. He recorded 30 wins and 12 losses in his MMA career. Various media outlets considered Henderson the Fighter of the Year in 2012.

Related: “You might have to miss me on that one,” Former UFC champ Benson Henderson denies Khabib Nurmagomedov’s position in the Greatest Of All Time conversation

Benson Henderson shares Lightweight title defence record with two other fighters

Benson Henderson
Benson Henderson (Image Courtesy – Sports Illustrated)

Lightweight is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. No fighter has had more than three title defences in the division. Benson Henderson, BJ Penn, and Khabib Nurmagomedov share the record for the most title defences.

Henderson won the title after defeating Frankie Edgar by decision. He defended the title against Edgar in a rematch that saw him retain the title in a split decision. To retain the title, he dominated Nate Diaz for five rounds in his second title defence. His third and final title defence came against former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, where he won by a split decision.

Khabib is the latest fighter to match the record but retired after it. The current champion Islam Makachev has the best chance to break the record for the most title defences in the Lightweight division.

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