Ben Henderson: Chael Sonnen is an average white guy, but he’s marketable

Ben Henderson is a smart fighter. He knows the ins and outs of the fight game, and accepts the fact that in the world of today’s fast-paced UFC, a fighter needs to be exciting while winning to be marketable. Heading into his pivotal title bout with Lightweight title challenger Nathan Diaz at UFC on Fox 5, Henderson admits that he hopes his fights will have more exciteability and drawing power:

“It is something that I am aware of, pay-per-view buys and numbers and all of that stuff,” he said. “The two pay-per-views I was a part of did not do very successfully, as far as comparing them to other numbers – the average numbers. You have to be entertaining and have a few tricks up your sleeves, (to where people say), ‘Oh wow, what was that? A few entertaining tricks, and hopefully you pull them off.” – via MMAJunkie.com

Benson Henderson may know what it takes to sell fights, but while he has won every UFC fight he has participated in, he has taken each by decision. Many fans may be calling for him to convincingly finish a few opponents in title fights before they rush to put him near the top of the popularity list. Still, Henderson cites one very popular fighter who may not be the most entertaining fighter in the Octagon, one Chael Sonnen:

“He knows it’s a promotional game. He is of average speed, average athletic-wise, white guy, average-looking, and he wrestles guys. He holds guys down – that’s his game. Who wants to see that? That’s not a super-marketable (style). But as soon as he starts talking, he’s very marketable. And he knows that.”

Henderson has never been one to talk an incredible amount of trash, but perhaps a bit of mixing it up ay benefit his overall following. While he and Frankie Edgar put on a pair of riveting fights that went the distance at UFC 144 and UFC 150 respectively, those bouts may not be the type of fight that new or casual fans would want to see. We have seen a usually soft-spoken champion in Junior dos Santos begin to hype his bouts, should Ben Henderson consider the same course of action?