Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson had two of the more memorable fights in the WEC and UFC. Now, the former champions will square off for a third time under the Karate Combat banner. The fight will headline the December event to be held in Las Vegas, according to sources.
Anthony Pettis-Benson Henderson Agree To Third Meeting
Former UFC champions Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson are set to square off for a third time.
And this one will be away from the usual cage they compete in.
According to MMA Fighting, the two have signed to meet under Karate Combat rules. The bout will headline the December 15 event from the Expo at World Trade Market in Las Vegas. The fight contract is for 170 pounds.
Pettis owns a pair of victories over Henderson, besting him the first time in 2010 for the WEC lightweight championship. That fight included his “Showtime-Kick,” where Pettis ran off the fence of the cage and connected on his way to a decision win.
Three years later, he won the UFC lightweight title with a first round submission over Henderson. Pettis would defend the belt once with a submission vs. Gilbert Melendez before losing the title to Rafael dos Anjos in 2015.
Since that time, he has gone just 7-11 in MMA fights, most recently losing a pair of bouts to Stevie Ray in PFL.
Henderson suffered a submission defeat this past March to Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title. The bout was in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix and snapped a two-fight win streak for “Smooth.”
In 2012, Henderson downed Frankie Edgar for the UFC title, defending it with wins over Edgar, Nate Diaz and Melendez before the loss to Pettis. He signed with Bellator in 2016 and fought for the welterweight title and lightweight title that year, losing to Andrey Koreshkov and Michael Chandler.
According to the report, Karate Combat is working to bring in Jose Aldo, Luke Rockhold and Lyoto Machida for potential bouts along with Michael Page and Darren Till. Machida’s brother, Chinzo, is set to face Shannon Hudson at Karate Combat 43.
“I wanted to start off by gifting the combat sports community with an epic fight featuring two former UFC champions free on YouTube,” new Karate Combat president Asim Zaidi said.
