Former UFC Lightweight Champion and current UFC Welterweight contender Benson Henderson recently spoke about WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) training MMA during his off-time from WWE at his gym, “The MMA Lab” in Glendale, Arizona.
While Henderson has not yet personally trained with the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he admitted that he is impressed with Bryan’s technical ability on the jiu-jitsu mat.
“He was out with some injuries in WWE,” Henderson said to SportingNews.com about Bryan, who is actually still out of action in the world of professional wrestling. “He came to our gym and moved up to blue belt in jiu-jitsu under my coach John Crouch. Every time I go in there, he’s working his butt off. I heard he was pretty strong and actually surprised me with how technical he is,” Henderson said of Bryan, who trained in jiu-jitsu under Neil Melanson at Randy Couture’s “Xtreme Couture” gym out of Las Vegas, Nevada prior to joining The MMA Lab.
“Smooth” Benson added, “I heard he was really great at being able to use his technique and not relying on his strength. He’s smooth and does jiu-jitsu really well.”
MMA fans may remember Daniel Bryan as the guy who took Diego Sanchez’s organic “Yes! Yes! Yes!” adrenaline rush chant at various UFC weigh-ins, and made it a national and international craze through the use of WWE television, where he established it as a key part of his act during his rise from mid-carder to WrestleMania headliner.
Henderson’s UFC contract expired after his last Octagon appearance, which saw him pick up his second win in the UFC’s Welterweight division with a split decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight Night 79 on November 28th. Prior to his current two-fight winning streak, Benson lost two fights in a row for the first time in his near ten-year professional MMA career.
Henderson noted prior to the Masvidal fight that he was purposely riding out his existing UFC contract. There was speculation that it was a negotiation tactic and then Bellator MMA expressed interest in the former UFC and WEC Champion. Currently it is unclear if Henderson will remain with the UFC, or if he will continue to fight at all.
To read the rest of the Benson Henderson interview, where he also talks about Brock Lesnar’s UFC run and his thoughts on CM Punk’s chances of success inside the Octagon, by visiting SportingNews.com.
