Henderson (left) and Khabilov (right) will face each other in June. Photo: MMA Press Production (Disclosure/UFC)
The UFC announced, this Tuesday (18), that it will organize an event for the first time in the city of Albuquerque, in the North American state of New Mexico. And the first fight has already been confirmed: Benson Henderson, former lightweight champion, will face the promising Rustam Khabilov.
Henderson, 30 years old, is trying to recover from a difficult moment within the UFC. In August 2013, he lost his belt after being submitted in the first round by his former tormentor, Anthony Pettis. Then, in January 2014, he returned to the octagon against Josh thomson. Henderson won the judges' split decision, although many considered that Thomson was better in the fight. Previously, Henderson had a seven-fight winning streak in the UFC, including winning the title, against Frankie Edgar, and three more defenses (against Edgar himself, Nate diaz and Gilbert Melendez).
Khabilov, three years younger, is undefeated after three UFC fights. The Dagestan fighter hit Vinc Pichel (knockout), Yancy Medeiros (technical knockout) and Jorge masvidal (decision) and has, overall, 17 wins and just one loss in professional MMA. Khabilov was scheduled to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 170 last month, but withdrew from the fight due to injury.
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