Benson Henderson is on the move. It won't come as a surprise to anyone that has been following the rumours but the former lightweight champ is off the Bellator after his UFC contract came to an end.
He may have slipped down the lightweight rankings following defeats to Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone but he was nonetheless a big draw and his departure will be felt by an organisation who have had an effective monopoly on the best fighters in MMA for quite a while now.
Bellator has managed to sneak the odd veteran here and there but this is a 32 year old on a two fight win streak since moving up to welterweight. He's leaving because he wants to, not because he's not needed anymore. And at the bottom of it all, is money. The UFC may seem like the promised land for fighters but the reality of it is, it's incredibly difficult to make a living. And it certainly hasn't got any easier.
The exclusive deal which the UFC signed with Reebok was something which many commentators had suggested could see fighters hamstrung in terms of revenue possibilities. Without the opportunity to bring in their own sponsors they were at the mercy of the dictated Reebok terms and their fight contract from the UFC, neither of which can be said to be great money unless you're at the top of the heap.
We'll have to wait and see whether Henderson's departure becomes a trend but the man himself has confirmed that the Reebok deal has played a big part in his decision to head to Bellator.
I won't lie, it was a very big deal. The ability to get sponsors on your own and not have to rely on the amount that Reebok dictates to you was a huge factor. I'd be straight up lying if I said it wasn't a very big part of my decision to go to Bellator.
I also want to be a trailblazer for the betterment of fighters. Bellator is open to a fighters union, fighters binding together to see what's in our best interest. That's something you can't even breathe about elsewhere. I think it's a good thing for myself and other fighters to have that.
With the recent rumours of Conor McGregor's long term plans still fresh in the memory, there's no doubt Henderson's departure will have the UFC thinking hard about what can be done to ensure this doesn't become a trend. As of now, Dana White and co. have taken a laissez faire approach to fighters rights.
Henderson has said that he's leaving on good terms but the Reebok deal is at the heart of things and it wouldn't be surprising to see a few more mid-ranking contenders make a similar move over the next year or so.
