Benson Henderson takes issue with the idea of a UFC White House event for a new reason.
Dana White has said he’ll announce the ‘White House fight’ this week when speaking in an Instagram live this past Friday.
With Jon Jones reportedly in talks to return on this card, he’s just one of several of the sport’s biggest names that is hoping to be a part of this landmark event.
Henderson may be retired but he doesn’t even have any interest in watching it, as he explained in a recent interview.
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Benson Henderson doesn’t believe the White House should be used as a spectacle
Benson Henderson doesn’t agree with such a significant place like the White House being used to host a UFC event in order to celebrate both America’s and Donald Trump’s birthdays.
Henderson was beaten by Aljamain Sterling at RAF 6 this past weekend after shutting down a question from Sports Illustrated about what fight he’d like to see take place in the US capital on June 14.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna tune in to the White House card if that happens,” he said. “If that goes through, I don’t think I’m tuning in for that one.”
The 42-year-old added that his political stance is a part of the reason but elaborated more when a follow-up question referenced the spectacle of the event.
“A spectacle, the word you just used is spectacle,” he responded. “Is the White House, the highest seat of our government, supposed to be a spectacle?”
Henderson, who retired from MMA in 2023, is tied with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov for having the second most consecutive UFC lightweight title defenses at three.
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Current UFC fighters have said they’re not interested in fighting at the White House for different reasons
While there are UFC fighters who are actively pursuing a chance to fight on this one-of-a-kind card, others aren’t as interested.
Brandon Moreno completely dismissed questions about whether he had any interest in this just last week which wasn’t surprising given his proud heritage.
Paddy Pimblett also wasn’t keen on the idea because the invite-only nature of the event would mean he wouldn’t be able to bring his usual army of supporters with him.
Another potential reason for skipping this event was highlighted by Brendan Allen, with the American talking about all the extra details and concerns you’d have to prepare for when speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast.