Ben Henderson Doubles Down, Draws Peak 1.5 Million Viewers At Fight Night 42

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has been the subject of much chatter since his UFC Fight Night 42 win over Rustam Khabilov. ‘Smooth’ took out his man in the fourth round with a slick rear naked choke, after lighting the Russian sambo master up on the feet. Much of the talk has involved the unfair scrutiny of Henderson in the lead up to his date with Khabilov in New Mexico.

The fight itself seemed to be quite an insult for the number one contender, who faced an opponent in ‘Tiger’ who hadn’t even dipped his toes in the top 10. Having seemingly been relegated to a non-PPV role since losing his title to Anthony Pettis at UFC 164, the UFC might want to consider the recent rating for last Saturday’s festivities.  

Fight Night 42 from Albuquerque, New Mexico, hit a 0.82 rating with 1,217,000 viewers. The show doubled the previous week’s offering of Miocic vs. Maldonado, which hit a sultry total of 609,000 viewers. During the peak period of Fight Night 42, between 12:45 and 1 AM, the show hit a high of just over 1.5 million viewers, making it the third highest in the FS1 series since it’s launch last August.

The inaugural showing of Chael Sonnen vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua still holds the highest rating in the series, boasting an impressive 1.78 million viewers. One thing this does prove is that Benson Henderson is a big enough draw, and with his finish over Khabilov, it looks like the former boss at 155 pounds may be making his way back to the big stage.

I’ve never considered Henderson a boring fighter, and have always contested the way he was treated by the UFC after the Josh Thomson fight. Money talks, and Henderson comes out of Fight Night 42 smelling of roses and cash. So what’s next for Bendo, surely a title eliminator is the least expected for ‘Smooth’ at this stage?

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