It’s been a big week for former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson.
Despite the promotion face-planting out of the gate, “Smooth” has signed on as a member of the Global Fight League’s newly announced Athlete Performance and Wellness Council.
In addition, Henderson (30-12) will come out of retirement to fight not for the GFL, but PFL, as he’s set to headline PFL Brussels against Patrick Habirora (8-0). The bout will be contested at welterweight (170lbs).
PFL officials announced the booking in a press release issued on Monday. PFL Brussels is set to take place on May 23, 2026 at the ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium.
Now 42, Henderson was last seen losing a title fight against Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 292 in 2023, part of the promotion’s ill-fated Lightweight Grand Prix. The Colorado-born fighter, who trains at The MMA Lab in Arizona, announced his retirement after the loss.
A huge signing for Bellator MMA in 2016, exiting the UFC off back-to-back wins, Henderson struggled in the company, losing three of his first four fights there, including welterweight and lightweight title bouts against Andrey Koreshkov and Michael Chandler. He would eventually go on a four-fight win streak that led to a non-title rematch with Chandler, only to be defeated again, the start of another three-fight skid.
A couple more wins took him to the Nurmagomedov fight. Coincidentally, Usman Nurmagomedov now holds gold as the inaugural PFL lightweight champion.
Patrick “The Belgian Bomber” Habirora has four wins under the PFL banner and will have his home country crowd no doubt behind him in the fight. The 24-year old featured in over 25 fights as an amateur before turning pro in 2024.
No other bouts have been announced for PFL Brussels currently.
