Who is Maria Henderson? Benson Henderson’s wife had this to say about her husband’s retirement

Maria Henderson is a fighter and the wife of famed MMA veteren Benson Henderson. She is a grappling-heavy fighter with a 3-0 amateur record and 1-0 pro record. Henderson is currently signed to Bellator and is slated to make her promotional debut against Mackenzie Stiller at Bellator 293.

Maria Henderson has a 75% finishing rate in all her fights, amateur and professional combined. Like her husband, she trains at the MMA Lab under head coach John Crouch.

Maria Henderson, nicknamed 'Mouse', opened up about her husband retiring after losing to champion Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292. The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion was very emotional after his loss and retirement, and his wife quoted the move as being 'heartbreaking' and 'surprising'.

Here's what Maria Henderson said about her husband's retirement:

"I don't think any of us really expected him to retire yet, because we thought he was going to win the tournament and we thought he was going to beat Usman. I think nine out of 10 times, he beats Usman. It's just, this was Usman's one time and it was a great fight for Usman."

'Mouse' claimed that her husband has what it takes to beat the Bellator lightweight champion. She continued:

"Ben and I've been together - I'm 30 now, and we've been together since I was 18 and my whole adult life has been my husband fighting. And, it's just now he's not fighting, so it was a really big surprise and it really is heartbreaking. And it's heartbreaking how much he killed himself to do this."

Skip to 2:40 for Maria Henderson on her husband's retirement:

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Benson Henderson's legacy in MMA

Fans who tuned into the fastest growing sport in the world during the McGregor/Rousey era may not be entirely familiar with the work of Benson Henderson in the realm of MMA. For hardcore MMA fans, 'Smooth' Benson Henderson will be remembered as one of the slickest fighters to ever do it.

Henderson fought for some of the best fight promotions in the world. He fought for WEC, where he was the champion, the UFC; where as champion, he defended his belt against the likes of Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz, and Gilbert Melendez. Henderson compiled a UFC record of 11-3.

Check out this Benson Henderson highlight reel by MMA Reels:

In 2016, Henderson moved to Bellator, where he compiled a promotional record of 7-7. He twice lost to former lightweight champion Michael Chandler, and most recently lost to current divisional champion Usman Nurmagomedov in his retirement fight.

Despite his less than stellar Bellator run, Henderson will be remembered as one of the best to ever do it in MMA. The veteran has 42 professional bouts under his belt, with 30 wins and 12 losses. He has five victories via knockout and nine submission victories.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Benson Henderson is the fact that he used to fight his bout with a toothpick in his mouth. Cool, but not recommended.