Benson Henderson has not had an easy time under the Bellator banner, but the former UFC and WEC lightweight champ will look to at least improve his record to .500 that in October.
MMAjunkie reported that Henderson is set to tangle with the heavy-handed Saad Awad at Bellator 208, which is headlined by a heavyweight tournament semifinal showdown between the legendary Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen.
Henderson (25-8) has fought five times in Bellator, winning twice and losing three times, with two of those defeats coming in championship bouts. He debuted with a one-sided decision loss to then-welterweight champ Andrey Koreshkov, defeated featherweight champ Patricio Freire via injury TKO, but dropped a split decision to then-lightweight champ Michael Chandler. A loss to Patricky Freire followed, but he got back in the win column with a rear-naked choke of Roger Huerta at Bellator 196 in April.
Awad (23-9) is enjoying the best run of his Bellator career. A winner of his last four, the 35-year-old has earned decisions over J.J. Ambrose and Ryan Quinn, while scoring knockout finishes over Zach Freeman and most recently Ryan Couture. His last loss was a KO vs. Brennan Ward, but that fight took place at welterweight, where he usually does not compete.
Bellator 208 takes place at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York on Saturday, October 13th. The card will be shown live on both Paramount Network and streamed on DAZN in the United States.