Jorge Masvidal was 'in no matter what' against Henderson – after some critical thinking

SEOUL – Now that Jorge Masvidal is in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 79 card in South Korea, he can admit there was a little bit of hesitation taking a short-notice fight against Benson Henderson.

When Henderson (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) lost Thiago Alves as his opponent earlier this month, Masvidal (29-9 MMA, 6-2 UFC) stepped up from the co-main slot against Dong Hyun Kim to fight former lightweight champ Henderson. But it wasn’t an instant “Yes.”

“I was in no matter what,” Masvidal told MMAjunkie. “(But) I thought about it for a second, because my weight now is welterweight. Do I want to fight Ben, who’s a stud at lightweight? … Is this going to – not set me back – but is this going to do what I want it to do for me at welterweight? But when I thought about it, Ben was the smarter choice for me (than staying in the fight against Kim). It’s going to go good for me.”

Masvidal returned to welterweight earlier this year after a long run at lightweight, where he fought for the Strikeforce title in 2011 against Gilbert Melendez. His return to 170 was a successful one with a bonus-winning knockout of Cezar Ferreira at the TUF 21 Finale in July.

And right away, boom – here he is in the UFC Fight Night 79 main event, which takes place at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul as the UFC’s debut in South Korea. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

On Saturday, he’ll be trying to look at the fight with Henderson as just another fight.

“At the end of the day, it’s just another day at the office – but it’ll be something special because I’ve never headlined a UFC event,” Masvidal said. “If you get to thinking, ‘Man, I’m headlining, five rounds, I’m in Korea,’ sh-t might not go good for you. This might not be the sport for you.”

A win over Henderson as a 2-1 underdog on Saturday would no doubt be huge for Masvidal’s prospects at welterweight. For more from the event’s headliner, check out the video above.

For more on UFC Fight Night 79, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.