Imagining an MMA Hall of Fame: Borderline Candidates, Part 1

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Benson Henderson
“Smooth” Midwest Championship Fighting (2006); Victory Fighting Championship (2007, 2007); Battlequest (2007); Ultimate Combat Experience (2007); Maximum Fighting Championship (2008); EVO MMA (2008); World Extreme Cagefighting (2009-10); Ultimate Fighting Championship (2011-Current)
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CASE FOR: The former World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC lightweight champion has an impressive list of wins: Gilbert Melendez, Nate Diaz, Frankie Edgar, Jim Miller, Josh Thomson and Donald Cerrone are among them. He is tied for the most UFC lightweight title defenses of all-time. CASE AGAINST: So many of his biggest wins came via hotly debated decisions. Very few are the sort of dominant performances that people will talk about years from now. Fans know he is a good fighter, but Henderson does not tend to inspire a lot of passion, either positively or negatively. VERDICT: Should he go in? Looking at the record and list of opponents, it feels like he should, but it also feels like there is something missing to this point. He has plenty of time to remove all doubt.

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