Ben Henderson vs. Patricky Freire Headlines Bellator 183

Bellator MMA has announced the main event of Bellator 183. Former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson will return to the cage at the event to take on Patricky Freire. Henderson’s only win in the Bellator cage is an injury TKO against Patricio Freire.

Another bout has been revealed for the upcoming show. UFC veteran Roy “Big Country” Nelson (22-14) will take on Javy Ayala (10-5). Nelson’s contract with the UFC ended after he suffered a loss to Alexander Volkov in April, and he opted to sign with Bellator in free agency. Ayala, on the other hand, is coming off a shocking 16-second KO of Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 163.

Henderson (24-7) has been out of action since losing a title fight to Michael Chandler back in November 2016 after he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus, which he fought through during three bouts under the Bellator banner. He made his promotional debut back in April of 2016 but lost by decision to then-welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov. He dropped to lightweight to beat Patricio Pitbull, who injured his leg during round two of a fight.

On the flip side, Freire(17-8) is coming off a sensational KO victory over former Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson in the Bellator 172 main event. This marked his first fight after he was knocked out by Chandler during a lightweight title bout. He has won three of his last four bouts, including a one-punch KO of Ryan Couture.

Bellator 183 takes place at the SAP Center in San Jose, California on Saturday, September 23rd. The main card will air live on Spike while the prelims will air online.