Benson Henderson making PFL debut to prove he's still got it at 42

If MMA is your sole combat sports focus, perhaps you thought Benson Henderson had called it a career.

It's been more than three years since Henderson, 42, had his most recent cagefight – a submission loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in a shot at the lightweight title at Bellator 292. And though Henderson hasn't been in an MMA fight since that title bout – his 14th under the Bellator banner – he hasn't stopped competing.

That's why he's going to lace up the MMA gloves again this month for his PFL debut in a main event in Belgium. He knows he's going to keep being asked why do it.

"I want to because I enjoy it. I love competition," Henderson told MMA Junkie Radio. "What originally got me going into wrestling, basketball, all of it was just my love of competition. I love to compete. I love to get after it. And even at 42, I still love to get after it. I still love to compete."

The problem has been, with one exception, that he hasn't been winning.

Under some fast-rising banners like Misfits Boxing, Karate Combat and RAF, he's been just 1-5, post-MMA, in grappling, karate, boxing and wrestling matches. And a friend in the right place may have used those setbacks to help convince Henderson to get back in the cage.

PFL matchmaker Mike Kogan, a longtime Henderson friend, apparently knew what he was doing.

"He was getting at me a little bit. He was like, 'Oh, hey, Henderson, I noticed your wrestling competitions haven't gone your way. Your jiu-jitsu competitions haven't gone away. Your boxing, you're 1-1, but it still hasn't gone your way. All these guys talking online, they this and that. They forgot how good you are, how good you were. You think maybe it's time for you to remind them? Do you want to remind those guys who you are?'

"I was like, 'I see what you're doing. Yeah, we can do that. Let's remind them what I bring to the table.'"

Henderson (30-12) will take on fast-rising welterweight prospect Patrick Habirora (8-0) in the PFL Brussels main event May 23 in Belgium. Habirora is 17 years younger than Henderson and has seven of his eight wins by knockout.

But Henderson has confidence the gap in experience will play a big factor once the cage door closes.

"I think it's huge," Henderson said. "… Patrick has a bunch of first-round finishes. He doesn't really have the minutes, the time inside the cage. And who knows – I could be wrong. I could be mistaken. He could be a world beater. He might end up being the best welterweight champion of all time. We'll see. But my job, I'm going to take him to those deep waters he hasn't been to yet, take him to places he has not experienced yet, because he doesn't have that cage time. You need a couple of really hard, good, tough fights so you can show your mettle.

"I think it's a big jump for Patrick, his team, his coaches. … I think it was a a bad call from his management team, a bad call on his coaches. They should be like, 'Patrick, you're going to be the champ. You're the man. You're awesome. You're so great. Let's take this fight (with Henderson) in maybe two more fights, three more fights. …'"