It didn’t take Bellator more than 24 hours to find an opponent for newly signed Welterweight Benson “Smooth” Henderson (23-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Henderson will compete for the Welterweight Title against Champion Andrey Koreshkov (18-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) in his promotional debut which will also be the first defence for Koreshkov.
The bout is set to headline Bellator 153 on April 22nd in Connecticut and will be the third 170lbs fight for Henderson. Henderson spent a majority of his Zuffa career at Lightweight claiming the WEC and UFC Titles in the process before dropping the UFC strap to Anthony Pettis at UFC 164.
Koreshkov will defend his Title for the first time against Henderson after capturing the gold at Bellator 140 in a win over long time Champion Douglas Lima. Koreshkov only has one red mark on his record, in a loss to former Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.
Tony’s Thoughts;
A very solid fight to welcome Henderson into the promotion and a great opportunity for him which is well deserved. Bellator have probably spent a big amount on bringing him across from the UFC and should definitely cash in on his name and brand whilst they can.
Koreshkov is certainly no slouch and will be a real test for Henderson and has a golden opportunity to prove his worth at 170lbs with a win over the well known and respected Henderson. He looked exceptional in his last fight against Lima and was arguably the underdog going into that one, and proved just how tough he is.