Benson retained his lightweight title in dominant fashion, but his speech afterwords drew just as much attention.
The post-fight speech is often one of clichés like “the hard work paid off” and/or of thanking sponsors, coaches and the opponent. When such speeches do go deeper it’s often purely religious, the “I can do all things through Jesus Christ” version. While Benson Henderson began his speech in that terrain, it quickly dove into something far more. Lymphoma cancer. An unfortunate hiking accident that resulted in death. How fighting is such a small part of life. How we all need to “hug on” and cherish our loved ones. Check it out:
Here are some responses from Twitter:
–AP Photo/Jack Dempsey
It’s always nice when men,even those who make a living beating each other senseless in a cage for our entertainment, are complex with a sensitive side.