Conor McGregor Sidelined Rest Of Year, Who Would Jon Jones Fight If He Returns?, Bellator

- Bellator returns this Friday night with an interesting main event fight at Bellator 160. Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson makes his second appearance for the promotion in a title-eliminator vs. Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. The event airs live on Spike TV from the Honda Center in Anaheim.

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Henderson lost to welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov earlier this year via decision. Freire, meanwhile, is a top challenger in the featherweight division but made an impact when he called out Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler after Chandler defeated his brother.

- Following a battle at UFC 202 with Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor faces a lengthy medical suspension. The Nevada Athletic Commission revealed recently that the featherweight champion must sit out until October 20, with no contact in training until October 5.

McGregor's medical suspension could go until December 17 if not cleared by an orthopedic doctor. He suffered an injury to his left foot and ankle, along with his shin over the course of the 25-minute battle with Diaz.

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Diaz was medically suspended until September 20, while Glover Teixeira earned a suspension until November following his knockout loss to Anthony Johnson.

- If – and it remains a big if – Jon Jones is able to get himself back in the Octagon sooner rather than later, UFC president Dana White would like to pair him up with somebody other than Daniel Cormier. That person is Anthony Johnson, who is coming off a 13-second knockout of Glover Teixeira.

White, appearing on "UFC Unfiltered" with Matt Serra and Jim Norton, mentioned the idea of the title-eliminator after stating that it is "looking good" that Jones is not suspended for two years for a failed drug test earlier this year.

"I haven't talked to Jon, but the guy's got 13 lives," White said (thanks to MMAjunkie for the transcription). "It's looking good for him. I think he's got to deal with (the) Nevada (State Athletic Commission) right now and this thing that went down. I can't say a lot about it because it's not my place. We'll see how this thing plays out, but it's looking good for him."

Damien Demento contributed to this article.

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