Benson Henderson can train immediately after elbow injury, vows to be 'better'

Benson Henderson wanted to rewriter the UFC’s record book when it comes to consecutive title defenses. Anthony Pettis cut that dream short.

Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) coaxed a verbal submission out of Henderson (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) this past Saturday in the main event of UFC 164 after he latched onto an armbar in the first round. Pettis took Henderson’s lightweight title and snapped his seven-fight winning streak.

UFC 164 took place at Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Pettis’ home city. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

After the fight, there were concerns about the health of both fighters. Pettis will be out for seven to eight weeks with a knee sprain, he learned earlier this week. And Henderson, thanks to the armbar, needed to be looked at, as well.

Henderson’s representatives on Friday said the former champ paid a visit to Dr. Brian Shafer in Phoenix and found out his elbow has no structural damage. Shafer is a team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Henderson released a statement saying that the injury wasn’t going to be much of a problem in terms of his planned comeback.

“My elbow isn’t going to be an issue,” Henderson stated. “Dr. Shafer said I can resume training immediately, but to take it slow and steady for a couple of weeks and do my rehab work. Of course, I am anxious to get going full speed again but I will be smart and patient about it as well. I want to thank my hardcore fans for their awesome support, not just in the past week, but throughout my career. I can be better. I will be better.”

Henderson won the interim WEC lightweight title in 2009 against Donald Cerrone, then unified it against Jamie Varner. He defended the title against Cerrone in April 2010 before losing the belt to Pettis by unanimous decision at WEC 53, the promotion’s final event.

But in the UFC, Henderson got started quickly. He went 3-0 in 2011 with wins over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida, the latter of which was a title eliminator that got him a shot at Frankie Edgar. He beat Edgar by unanimous decision at UFC 144 in Japan to win the UFC’s 155-pound title, then beat him by split decision in a rematch at UFC 150.

Henderson then defended the title against Nate Diaz and former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez. He was scheduled to meet T.J. Grant at UFC 164, but Grant suffered a training injury and had to withdraw from the fight. That opened the door for Pettis, who himself had been the No. 1 contender after a January win over Cerrone. But he instead elected to drop to featherweight to challenge Jose Aldo. An injury knocked him out of that fight, but four weeks later he got his shot at Henderson and left Bradley Center with his old adversary’s title once again.

Pettis remains the only fighter to beat Henderson since 2007, when “Smooth” was submitted in just his third career fight.

For complete coverage of UFC 164, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.