Former UFC Champ Benson Henderson To Come Out Of Retirement For PFL Event

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Former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson will return to MMA to headline PFL Brussels in May. 

PFL announced on Monday that Henderson would be returning to headline its event in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday, May 23. He is slated to face No. 10 ranked Beligan Patrick Habirora, undefeated in eight – with seven coming by way of knockout – and looking to follow up on his first-round victory over Kevin Jousset in December. 

Henderson won the Lightweight title from Frankie Edgar in August 2012, retaining it over Edgar once more and defending against Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez before losing to Anthony Pettis in August 2013. 

He went on to beat Jorge Masvidal before finding his way outside of Dana White's promotion. He last fought against Usman Nurmagomedov in March 2023, crashing out of the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix in the quarter-finals. 

And he has remained active outside of MMA with Misfits Boxing, winning one fight and losing another in 2024, Karate Combat, losing his sole bout to Pettis in 2023, and Real American Freestyle Wrestling, losing to Aljamain Sterling in February.  

Henderson vs. Habirora will be broadcast via ESPN Unlimited in the US. The main card is slated to begin at 12 PM EST, but no further fights have been announced outside of the main event, at the time of writing.