Benson Henderson has had an iconic look throughout his MMA career and it's not his wild hair or Taekwondo shorts. The current Bellator lightweight has fought with a toothpick in his mouth that he's hidden from referees.
It's an interesting habit that many have called very dangerous, which on top of fighting, is not great. Benson Henderson has never had an issue with the toothpick in his MMA career but it's a habit that he's now done with.
“I try not to have the toothpick anymore,” Bellator lightweight contender Benson Henderson said on The MMA Hour. “It was just a bad habit. I try not to. I always told my mom that it was because I saw my dad with a toothpick in his mouth, so then I would copy him and be 7, 8, 9 years old running around with a toothpick in my mouth and she’d be all scared, ‘Oh, take it out!’ Then when I had my oldest [child], I envisioned my 6-year old, 5-year old, 7-year old son running around with a toothpick in his mouth and I was deathly afraid. Like, ‘No! You could get really hurt!’
“That’s why I try not to do that whole toothpick thing, just because I’m worried about them copying me. So I try not to.”
It's an interesting reason for Benson Henderson to drop the toothpick but it's a good example for his children who may try to venture off into MMA themselves. Henderson currently has a fight scheduled against Peter Queally on September 23 at Bellator 285.
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