Ben Henderson returns to 155, fights Patricio Pitbull at August 26th Bellator event

After a failed attempt at capturing the Bellator welterweight championship, Ben Henderson is going back to the lightweight division, where he was champion in both the WEC and UFC. In a fight booking that is somewhat out of left field, Lance Pugmire of the LA Times reports that Bendo will be facing former Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire, who is moving up a weight class. This main event will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on August 26th, with the main card airing live on Spike TV.

Henderson (23-6) signed with Bellator MMA in free agency after a distinguished career in both the WEC and UFC, which spanned from 2009-2015. He made his Bellator debut back in April against welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov, who beat him down for 5 rounds to retain his belt. Bendo’s last three fights have all been at 170, and he hasn’t won a lightweight fight since choking out Rustam Khabilov in June 2014.

Pitbull (25-3) lost his featherweight title to rival Daniel Straus by thrilling unanimous decision in November 2015. His first fight since losing the title ended in a 2nd round submission win against Henry Corrales, a fight which was part of the Koreshkov vs. Henderson undercard. The 29-year-old has never competed in Bellator as a lightweight, where is brother, Patricky Pitbull, has been a regular contender and a recent title challenger. He did fight on the Brazilian regional scene at 160 lbs prior to his Bellator signing (H/T Matheus Aquino). Now it’s Patricio set to compete at 155 in one of the more high profile bouts of his career.

Not only will Patricio Pitbull vs. Ben Henderson happen on August 26th, but Robert Guerrero (33-4-1, 18 KOs) vs. David Peralta (25-2-1, 14 KOs) will headline a Premier Boxing Champions on Spike card at the same venue on August 27th. Tickets are available to attend both events as part of a special doubleheader package.