The possibility of spreading his combat-sports wings was a motivator for former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson to sign with Bellator.

On Friday’s edition of “Inside MMA” on AXS TV, Henderson (23-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) discussed his newly announced deal, which includes a Bellator 153 title fight with welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov (18-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) on April 22.

While Henderson is one of the bigger names to move from the UFC to Bellator – and has fellow fighters looking to him for information and advice – he said a big part of his decision came down to the potential opportunities he can get with the Viacom-owned promotion. Some examples? The possibility to compete beyond the MMA cage.

“Wanting to have a kickboxing bout and wanting to have a boxing match – underneath Zuffa (the UFC’s parent company), that’s probably not allowed; (it’s probably) very heavily frowned upon,” he said. “But Bellator, because they have their co-promotions, they’re open to options, so it’s definitely what helped sell me on the idea of Bellator.”

Henderson didn’t mention any specific plans for non-MMA competition, but he clearly likes having options. He said Bellator officials also were open to structuring his pay outside the UFC’s usual model, which includes a specific fight purse as well as a win bonus of the same amount.

“Bellator was super open about the idea of doing different things, doing something differently – not doing the standard, regular show and win money, but doing something differently,” he said.

Check out the full interview above. And check out UFC fighters’ thoughts on Henderson’s new deal:

For more on Bellator 153, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.