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  • Bellator 153 Andrey Koreshkov vs Benson Henderson live coverage and results

    Bellator 153 : Koreshkov vs Henderson is on Spike TV Friday night at 8 pm eastern from Connecticut. The show airs one hour earlier than usual and features  the Bellator debut of former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson. He challenges Bellator welterweight champion Andrei Koreshkov in the main event. Bellator mainstay Patricio “Pitbull” Freire fights in the co-main and the show also features the return of “MVP” Michael Venom Page. Mr Cyborg even makes an appearance!

    Show opens with a video package with clips of various MMA media talking about the signing of Benson Henderson, including Ariel Helwani, Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice. They made the signing feel very important. This led to footage of Andrey Koreshkov just destroying dudes. Really good opening that made the main event of tonight’s show feel like a big deal.

    Like last week’s show, they are airing the fighter walkouts, which is a nice  touch that separates Bellator from UFC. Sean Grande even talks about the MVP “character” but also puts over his fighting ability and style, saying that he vows to do something that fans have never seen before.

    Welterweights Michael Page (9-0) vs Jeremie Holloway (7-1) (John McCarthy – ref)

    Page has a huge height and reach advantage, as he usually does a 6 ft 3 welterweight. Holloway rushes MVP and gets floored with a punch flush on the face but he recovers quickly. Page with his hands down at his knees and throwing wild punches while Grande says he’s part Anderson Silva and part Bugs Bunny, which gets a chuckle from Jimmy Smith. Holloway clinches up on the cage and the fans boo so Big John breaks them up. Actually it was a low blow by Holloway during the clinch. MVP with a huge  right and then throws Holloway to the floor. MVP with a reverse ankle lock and gets the quick tap. He then gets in Holloway’s face trash talking him after he releases the hold.

    WINNER – MICHAEL PAGE (10-0) by submission (toe hold) at 2:15

    Page gets some interview time after the fight. Says he’s working on his all around game. Jimmy Smith announces that it will be MVP vs Fernando Gonzalez on July 16th in London, which is the undercard of the Kimbo Slice/James Thompson fight. 

    Lightweights Brent Primus (6-0) vs Gleristone Santos (27-5) (Bryan Miner – ref)

    No walkouts aired for these two. Ref Miner bears a slght resemblance to Scott Coker. Santos gets a couple early knockdowns and Primus seems to want to keep it on the ground but Santos stands up to get it back to the feet. Primus has 3 first round subs in Bellator so that would explain it. Primus does get it to the ground at 1:15 and working for a sub from his back. Santos to his feet and landing kicks to the body so Primus gets up as well. Santos is defintely landing more on the feet. Primus misses a takedown attempt badly at 2:30. Santos already tired 4:00 in as he’s been throwing a lot of punches. Primus starting to connect with leg kicks. 10-9 Santos but close

    SAntos controlling the cage to start the round and still more active early. Primus hit with a low blow 2:30 in but doesn’t seem to  want to stop fighting. Ref warns Santos and they start fighting again right away. Both guys throwing a ton of shots on the restart. Primus with a takedown attempt but defended well by Santos at 4:00. Primus with a nice punch combo, his best of the fight, at 4:15. Santos with a nice combo right before the bell. That was almost a 10-10 round but I’d give the slight edge to Primus so 19-19 after 2

    Jimmy Smith has Santos up two rounds. Primus pulls guard early in round 3. Santos stands up and Primus tries to grab his foot but Santos gets away and they’re both standing again. Primus starting to land more punches and connects with a spin kick. Santos with a punch combo of his own at 1:45 that staggers Primus. Primus stuffed on another takedown attempt at 2:45. Santos lands a couple hard rights followed by a body kick and Primus is stumbling. Santos lets up, giving Primus time to recover and Primus gets a takedown at 3:45 and Primus takes his back. Santos rolls out but Primus still in his guard. Primus landing punches and elbows. Santos with a heel hook attempt but Primus escapes and postures up and then lands a hammer fist before going back into Santos’ guard. Primus ends the round on top to take the round definitively. 10-9 Primus, 29-28 overall but either guy could take it.

    WINNER – BRENT PRIMUS (7-0) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)

    Jimmy Smith scored all 3 rounds for Santos, which is questionable. Primus gets some mic time and asks for a top 10 fighter to help him move up in the rankings. He thanks God and Scott Coker for believing in him and letting him fight on the main card. Charisma isn’t exactly his strong suit.

    Good pre-fight video package for the next fight. Ward is promising a quick explosive fight in front of his hometown fans. Bellator is back in this venue in October and Ward will get a title shot with a win tonight. 

    Welterweights Brennan Ward (13-3) vs Evangelista Santos (20-16) (Todd Anderson – ref)

    These guys are big enough stars to get televised walkouts. Santos is better known as Mr Cyborg and is the ex-husband of Cristiano Justino aka Cris Cyborg. He is a former Strikeforce fighter making his Bellator debut and he once fought Nick Diaz. He’s also fought in Pride. Ward is a big star to the locals and comes out to Irish folk music with Irish flags everywhere like he’s on a Conor McGregor undercard. When Bellator did their UK vs USA tentpole show last year, he was on the UK “team” before turning American in his post-fight interview. This should end quickly as between the two of them, they’ve got 28 stoppages  in 33 career wins, most of those coming in the first round.

    Ward catches a Santos kick and takes him down right away. Cyborg with a heel hook and gets the quick tap.

    WINNER – EVANGELISTA SANTOS (21-16) by verbal submission at 30 seconds (heel hook)

    Cyborg says he’s after the belt and not much more in his post fight promo.

    The “Fighters First” promo from last week aired again and it’s still great. Matt Mitrione’s debut was announced for Dynamite 2 in June against a Samoan fighter that I’ve never heard of. They are running tentpole shows in each of the next 3 months with regular shows mixed in as well so it’s going to be a big few months of fights for Bellator as well as UFC.

    Featherweights Patricio Freire (24-3) vs Henry Corrales (12-2) (Kevin MacDonald – ref)

    Both guys get walkouts with Pitbull getting AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” as his song, preceded by barking pitbulls. Pitbull controlling the cage early. Corrales landing single punches from distance but neither guy doing much through 2 minutes. Pitbull with a takedown attempt at 2:15 and ends up taking the back of Corrales standing. He completes it at 2:30 and into mount quickly. Pitbull working for an arm triangle but gives it up quickly. Corrales works him back into guard but  eats some elbows. Corrales to his feet at 3:45. Crowd booing heavily at 4:30 as neither guy has done a thing since they stood up. They have a quick punch exchange right before the bell. 10-9 Pitbull

    Carl Seumanatafa is the name of Mitrione’s opponent in June. Announcers saying that Pitbull may have suffered a rib injury in the first round. He does seem to be very tentative. Nice punch combo from Corrales at 1:30. Crowd booing again at 1:45. Pitbull with cage control but neither guy doing much of anything, much like the main event of last week’s show, although this one has slightly more action. Pitbull connects with a flying knee at 3:00. Pitbull with a nice punch combo at 3:15 and then gets a takedown. Pitbull landing light punches to the body from the top but then stands up and locks in a standing guillotine and gets the quick tap.

    WINNER – PATRICIO FREIRE (25-3) by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:09 of the 2nd round

    In his post-fight interview, Pitbull says he was a “little hurt” after round 1 but he took his corner’s advice and submitted his opponent in Round 2. Says he’s the most complete fighter in the division and vows to take his belt back from Daniel Straus. 

    A prelim fight between Djamil Chan and Richard Patishnock aired next. Chan moves to 13-2 with a first round KO and looked really good. 

    Main Event for the Bellator Welterweight Championship – Champion Andrei Koreshkov (18-1) vs Benson Henderson (23-5) (John McCarthy – ref)

    Henderson got to take his “Awesome God” entrance music with him from UFC and Koreshkov is out to the Russian national anthem followed by what sounded like the Imperial Death March. It would’ve been a great entrance song for Rusev when he was a Russian sympathizer. After bringing in Road Warrior Hawk a couple years ago, I was very disappointed that Nikolai Volkoff was nowhere to be found. Henderson is the huge crowd favorite and his “notable wins” record is the best lineup I’ve ever seen in Bellator.

    Henderson giving up a lot of size here, although it’s not as bad as when he fought Brandon Thatch last year. Henderson staying on the outside, landing body kicks from distance. Koreshkov pushing the pace early. Henderson connecting with leg kicks as well. Koreshkov catches a kick and pushes Henderson to the ground at 2:15 but lets him back up. Koreshkov lands a hard body kick right after that. Koreshkov with a punch combo that backs Henderson up at 3:15. Henderson misses badly on a takedown attempt. Henderson continuing to connect with leg kicks, which could come into play later. Koreshkov knocks Henderson down with 10 seconds left and all over him with punches as the round ends. 10-9 Koreshkov

    Koreshkov advancing again and Henderson with his back to the cage early. Koreshkov lands a spinning head kick and Henderson misses on another takedown attempt. Flying knee by Koreshkov and then a punch combo but Henderson weathers it. Another weak takedown attempt by Henderson. Henderson continuing to land leg kicks, but that’s all he’s connecting with. Another failed takedown attempt from Henderson at 3:15. That one was closer. Henderson missing wildly on his punches as well. Henderson with a body punch that seemed to hurt Koreshkov a bit and he gains cage control for a short bit. Body kick by Koreshkov staggers Henderson at 4:30. Cage clinch with 10 seconds left and Koreshkov landing punches to the body and head. 10-9 Koreshkov, 20-18 overall

    LETS GO BENSON chants from the crowd to start round 3. Left hook staggers Henderson and he shoots for a takedown. Koreshkov landing elbows and punches to the head but Henderson won’t let go of his waist. Koreshkov with his back on the cage and Henderson just holding him there, not landing anything. Henderson with a couple of elbows to the head that connect. Koreshkov sprawls and landing hard knees to the body. They separate at 3:30. Koreshkov landing hard leg kicks as the crowd starts a USA chant. Spinning head kick from Koreshkov with 10 seconds left. Another round for Koreshkov, 30-27.

    Koreshkov advancing to start again and landing leg kicks early. Henderson with a takedown attempt and Koreshkov sprawls out. Henderson ends up on his back and just misses with a hard upkick and Koreshkov backs off, forcing Henderson to his feet. Henderson wtih a takedown attempt that ends up in a cage clinch at 2:00. Henderson landing a lot of leg kicks from the clinch. Koreshkov gets seperation at 3:00. Koreshkov continuing to advance. Koreshkov knocks Henderson down with a punch but stays on his feet, landing punches while Henderson is sitting on the canvas. Koreshkov with a standing guillotine at 4:30 and drags him to the canvas but lets go quickly. Henderson to his feet at 4:45. 10-9 Koreshkov, 40-36

    Benson’s corner told him “we’re down a lot” between rounds. Henderson with leg kicks to open and connects with a head kick. Henderson landing more this round as he has to go for it. Koreshkov looks as fresh as he did in the first and lands another spinning head kick. Henderson with a takedown attempt and Koreshkov sprawls out again. Koreshkov with a massive body kick as Henderson was shooting for a takedown. Henderson stayed down but Koreshkov backed off, forcing him to his feet. Henderson with another weak takedown attempt. Henderson landed a couple of kicks from his back and Koreshkov backed off. Henderson misses wildly with a punch and then drops to his back but Koreshkov having none of it and backs off. Koreshkov still advancing at 4:00 and lands a spinning back fist. Koreshkov drops Henderson with a punch but doesn’t go to the ground with him. Henderson connects with an upkick but Koreshkov in with a vicious knee to the body with 10 seconds left. Koreshkov with a guillotine right before the final bell. 10-9 Koreshkov, 50-45

    WINNER – ANDREY KORESHKOV (19-1) by unanimous decision (50-45 x 3)

    Both guys get interview time. Koreshkov says that his coach told him that he would win every round and he did. Henderson says he’s sad cause he doesn’t like losing. When asked what’s next, he was supposed to say he’s going back to 155 but instead said “I dunno, whatever the bosses say”. Announcers were pushing potential fights with Josh Thomson and Michael Chandler. Koreshkov will probably get the Koscheck-Daley winner next. 

  • Benson Henderson to fight for Bellator title in his first fight

    After announcing the signing of free agent Benson Henderson yesterday, Bellator MMA has wasted no time in ending the speculation as to whether the former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion would compete at 155 or 170 lbs.

    The promotion announced today that Henderson’s first fight in Bellator will be at Bellator 153 against Andrei Koreshkov and it will be for the Welterweight title. “Bendo” had two fights in UFC at the higher weight class, winning them both, in 2015. He won a split decision over Jorge Masvidal in his last UFC fight in November which followed a 4th round submission of Brandon Thatch in February.

    Koreshkov is 23-5 and won the Bellator Welterweight Championship over Douglas Lima via unanimous decision in July at Bellator 140. That was his fourth straight win in the Bellator cage and fifth straight overall. He has not lost since being knocked out in the fourth round by current ONE Championships Welterweight Champion Ben Askren in a 2013 bout. Overall, he’s 9-1 in Bellator with 5 wins by knockout.

    The Henderson-Koreshkov fight should do good TV numbers for Bellator, given Henderson’s track record in terms of TV ratings. This bout has been announced for April 22nd, a Friday, so this would not appear to be a “tent-pole” event for Bellator, which is interesting. Should Henderson win the title, he would likely end up facing the winner of the upcoming Paul Daley-Josh Koscheck fight and former Champion Douglas Lima would be another possibility.

    Bellator 153 will take place at the Mohegan Sun Casino on April 22nd and tickets go on sale this Friday February 5th. There will be a presale for members of  Bellator Nation  starting tomorrow, February 3rd.

  • Benson Henderson signs with Bellator after UFC declines a matching offer

    Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson announced Tuesday that he has signed with Bellator MMA.

    Henderson’s contract expired after his split decision win over Jorge Masvidal on 11/28 in Seoul, South Korea, and it was well known he was in talks with Bellator since that point. UFC had the right to match the Bellator offer, but declined according to a tweet from MMA Junkie’s John Morgan who spoke with Dana White.

    It is expected Henderson will fight at welterweight in Bellator where he would be considered a strong favorite if he were to face current champion Andrey Koreshkov. The 170 pound division is wide open for him to talk into a title fight, but he’d have more money fights at lightweight. Lightweight is the company’s strongest division with the likes of current lightweight champion Will Brooks, Michael Chandler, and Josh Thomson.

    On Facebook, Henderson (23-5) thanked the UFC, including a number of people behind the scenes as well as White and Lorenzo Fertitta. He also did an interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour show.

    “I’m beyond excited for this next phase of my career,” he wrote. “It’s a big move, like any move when switching employers or jobs after having worked somewhere for such a long time.

    Henderson started with Zuffa in 2009, as part of the WEC lightweight division. He had a classic all-time match later that year when he won the interim title in a match with Donald Cerrone, and followed that up with by beating Jamie Varner for the title. Henderson lost the title to Anthony Pettis in another of the great fights of the era, via decision, in 2010, featuring Pettis doing the Showtime kick off the cage to knock Henderson down in the closing minute of the fight. Henderson then defeated Frankie Edgar on February 26, 2012, to win the UFC lightweight title. He defended it four times before losing to Pettis on August 31, 2013. He fought at welterweight in his last two UFC fights.

  • UFC Fight Night 79 Preview: 5 storylines to watch, betting odds & predictions

    The UFC spends Thanksgiving weekend bringing the Octagon to South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79 on Saturday. The event will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass with an early morning start time, or late-night start time depending on which coast you live in, with an eleven-fight card in Seoul, South Korea. The action kicks off with preliminary card action at 5 AM eastern time heading into the main card kicking off at 8 AM eastern time.

    The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the welterweight division as former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson fights at 170 pounds for the second time when he takes on Jorge Masvidal, who replaced Thiago Alves in the headline bout. In the co-main event, it will be South Korea’s own Dong Hyun Kim, looking to score his second straight win, taking on Dominic Waters, who stepped in to replace Masvidal. Also on the card is the return of “Sexyama” as Yoshihiro Akiyama takes on Alberto Mina. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep your eye on for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 79 event.

    1. Will this be Benson Henderson’s last fight in the UFC?

    Benson Henderson enters the main event of UFC Fight Night 79 at a pivotal point in his career. This will be the final fight on Henderson’s contract with the UFC, and he will be testing the free agent market following Saturday’s event. Henderson is a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion with a 22-5 record in his career. If you were to rank all of the 500-plus UFC fighters in order, odds are Henderson would be ranked in the top 25. He has been a top-five lightweight in the world for the last six years, and as he has moved up to welterweight for the time being, he has shown he has the chance to be a threat there as well. He has just three losses inside the Octagon- losing the championship to Anthony Pettis, who just has Henderson’s number, a flash knockout to current champion Rafael Dos Anjos, and a close split decision loss to Donald Cerrone in January, the man getting the next title shot.

    It all comes down to how Henderson wants to test the market. Times are different these days with the Reebok deal and the opportunities to promote sponsors in the UFC being slim. Bellator has shown that they will go after high-profile fighters, and while the sponsorship issue doesn’t exist there, the exposure there hasn’t been the best, and their top fighters are getting pushed down the card in lieu of the likes of Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice. Henderson is a bonafide main event fighter, and he is one of the best in the world. He will command a solid contract, but he belongs in the UFC. The competition is the best there, and if he wants to truly show he is the best, he re-signs when all is said and done. Henderson is the biggest name to find himself in this position since the Reebok deal was fully implemented in July, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Win or lose, I see him being back in the UFC, but his position makes for an interesting question heading into Saturday night’s event, when he takes on Jorge Masvidal in the headline bout.

    2. Will Jorge Masvidal spoil Benson Henderson’s night on Saturday?

    Jorge Masvidal gets his first UFC main event on Saturday night, taking on Benson Henderson in the five-round welterweight headliner, and it is a fight Masvidal is taking on short notice. He was scheduled for the card against Dong Hyun Kim, but it was a three-round bout. He now takes a five-round bout against a much different opponent, and one that he was scheduled to fight in April when both were competing at 155 pounds. Both are now at 170 pounds and looking to establish themselves as contenders. Masvidal has won four of his last five fights, with the lone loss coming in a close split decision to Al Iaquinta, a fight more remembered for Iaquinta’s post-fight tirade. Masvidal moved up to welterweight following that fight, and he had a strong knockout of Cezar Ferreira in July in his UFC welterweight debut.

    Henderson will come in as the big crowd favorite being of Korean descent, and with him being in his current position as noted above, Masvidal will be looking to spoil the party in the main event. Masvidal has the tools to be a threat in whichever division he competes in, and he seems more comfortable at 170 pounds as he doesn’t have to make the huge weight cut or worry too much about missing weight, though there were slight issues in his first drop back down. Henderson is one of the best in the world and Masvidal will have his opportunity to prove he belongs in the discussion. Masvidal has very good boxing and power, and Henderson is the better grappler and one who excels in bringing pressure. Henderson is an experienced five-round fighter while Masvidal has had just one over the years, a title fight loss to Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce. Henderson is the favorite, and for good reason, but Masvidal a solid chance to score the upset.

    3. Will Dong Hyun Kim score the win in his home country?

    There are actually two fighters named Dong Hyun Kim on the fight card, a first in the UFC, but it is the veteran welterweight, otherwise known as “Stun Gun”, who comes into Saturday’s event as the biggest favorite on the fight card. He competes in the co-main event, and it will be his first fight in his native country of South Korea since 2004. This will be the 16th fight in the UFC career of Kim, who holds an 11-3 with 1 no contest record inside the Octagon, and he remains a top-ten ranked fighter. However, he has always had trouble getting inside the top five, and every top opponent he has fought has ended with him on the losing side. Kim hopes to reverse that curse, and while he doesn’t have a top-level opponent in this bout, the hope for Kim is that a big win in his home country will give him that extra boost towards title contention.

    He fights Dominic Waters, a man who took the fight on short notice looking to score the huge upset and get his first UFC win. Waters is an opponent to not take lightly as he comes from a good camp and has solid skills, but Kim is a tough opponent to fight no matter if you take the fight on two weeks’ notice like Waters did, or if you get the full eight weeks of a training camp to prepare for. Kim is an excellent judoka and has been improving his striking. Despite being 34-years-old, Kim doesn’t feel like a finished product, but has some hurdles to still overcome, one being his tendency to start off slow. It would be in Waters’ best interest to come out aggressive and try and catch Kim early, but Kim’s striking and overall suffocating top game will begin to take over the fight in the early stages of the opening round. This is a fight Kim is made to win, and he will get the job done.

    4. How much does Yoshihiro Akiyama have left?

    Yoshihiro Akiyama is a popular fighter who hasn’t quite lived up to the high expectations given to him when he signed with the UFC in 2009. He has had a tough road, and injuries haven’t helped him at all as he has missed a lot of action over the six years, having fought an average of just once a year during his UFC tenure. He was out of action for nearly 31 months following a February 2012 loss to Jake Shields, but he returned in September 2014 to score a decision win over Amir Sadollah, which ended a four-fight losing streak. He hasn’t fought since that win, having done some acting work since then, but he returns in South Korea, where he has a big following being a Korean descent.

    He will be taking on Alberto Mina, who is undefeated with an 11-0 record in his career, but he also has been out of action for a while. He hasn’t fought since a TKO win in his UFC debut over Shinsho Anzai in August 2014, and he actually has the same amount of fights in the last four years as Akiyama has. Mina is heavy-handed and has a solid submission game, so Akiyama will need to establish his wrestling to take Mina down and establish some ground-and-pound from the top. Akiyama looked good in his win over Sadollah, but he still has a tendency to wanna rely on his striking to win fights. Mina will make him pay with a slew of various attacks, from kicks to knees, and Akiyama’s chin has been battered before. Akiyama should use constant pressure and keep Mina out of range with his wrestling. This is a toss-up fight and one that will show if Akiyama has anything left in his tank.

    5. What else is there to look out for on the card?

    Filling out the main card is a featherweight bout between prospect Doo Ho Choi and “TUF” veteran Sam Sicilia. This is a fight that has been attempted to be made on two separate occasions, but injuries to Choi have caused the delay of the fight both times. They were set to fight at UFC 173 in May and again at UFC Fight Night 71 in July, and Sicilia wound up competing on both cards, winning fights over Aaron Phillips and Yaotzin Meza. Choi has one fight in the UFC, an 18-second TKO win over Juan Puig last November, and he has won ten straight fights and 12 of his 13 professional bouts. He is a knockout artist, much like Sicilia, and this fight has fireworks written all over it and a very good chance at winning “Fight Of The Night”.

    Another fighter to keep an eye on, this time in the preiminary card, is Fredy Serrano. Serrano is a former Olympian in wrestling for Colombia, competing in the same weight class that was won by current flyweight contender Henry Cejudo in the 2008 Olympics. Serrano retired from wrestling in 2013 and moved to MMA. He was on the first season of “TUF: Latin America” but lost to eventual winner Alejandro Perez. He made his UFC debut in March, scoring a third-round knockout win over Bentley Syler. Serrano has just a 2-0 record during his professional career, but also wins in two unsanctioned fights. He has the wrestling pedigree and has shown some great knockout power, and is a definite prospect in the growing flyweight division.

    Full UFC Fight Night 79 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictios

    MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 8 AM ET/5 AM PT)

    Welterweights: (#7 LW) Benson Henderson vs. Jorge Masvidal
    Betting Odds:     Henderson (-260), Masvidal (+220)
    Prediction: Henderson by decision

    Welterweights: (#7) Dong Hyun Kim vs. Dominic Waters
    Betting Odds:     Kim (-750), Waters (+525)
    Prediction: Kim by submission in round 1

    Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alberto Mina
    Betting Odds:     Akiyama (-150), Mina (+130)
    Prediction: Akiyama by decision

    Featherweights: Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
    Betting Odds:     Choi (-240), Sicilia (+200)
    Prediction: Choi by knockout in round 2

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 5 AM ET/2 AM PT)

    Middleweights: Dongi Yang vs. Jake Collier
    Betting Odds:     Yang (+115), Collier (-135)
    Prediction: Yang by decision

    Featherweights: Yui Chul Nam vs. Mike de la Torre
    Betting Odds:     Nam (-120), Torre (+100)
    Prediction: Nam by decision

    Lightweights: Tae Hyun Bang vs. Leo Kuntz
    Betting Odds:     Bang (-135), Kuntz (+115)
    Prediction: Bang by submission in round 2

    Women’s Strawweights: Seo Hee Ham vs. Cortney Casey
    Betting Odds:     Ham (+145), Casey (-165)
    Prediction: Casey by decision

    Flyweights: Yao Zhikui vs. Fredy Serrano
    Betting Odds:     Zhikui (+155), Serrano (-175)
    Prediction: Serrano by knockout in round 2

    Bantamweights: Ning Guangyou vs. Marco Beltran
    Betting Odds:     Guangyou (-185), Beltran (+160)
    Prediction: Guangyou by decision

    Welterweights: Dominique Steele vs. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim
    Betting Odds:     Steele (-130), Kim (+110)
    Prediction: Kim by decision

  • Jorge Masvidal replaces injured Thiago Alves vs. Benson Henderson in UFC Fight Night 79 main event

    An injury has forced another change to the UFC’s upcoming debut in South Korea, this time affecting the headline bout.

    A rib injury has forced former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves (21-10, 13-7 UFC) out of his scheduled five-round main event bout against Benson Henderson (22-5, 10-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 79 in Seoul. Henderson, the former UFC Lightweight Champion, will now take on Jorge Masvidal (29-9, 6-2 UFC) in the new headliner. MMAFighting.com first reported Masvidal as the replacement after Twitter user @TalkMMA reported the injury to Alves.

    The change in the main event comes just days following the cancellation of the co-main event between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton. That bout was scrapped after Cro Cop was pulled from the fight due to a potential drug test failure and subsequent retirement. Masvidal was originally slated to meet Dong Hyun Kim in the new co-main event, but was selected as the replacement for Alves. There has yet to be an announcement on Kim’s status for the event.

    Henderson and Masvidal were scheduled to meet earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 63 in April when both were competing in the lightweight division. Henderson then took a short-notice bout at welterweight against Brandon Thatch at UFC Fight Night 60 in February, which he won by fourth-round submission. Henderson hasn’t fought since then. Masvidal went on to fight Al Iaqunta at the April event, but lost by close split decision. However, he is coming off a win over Cezar Ferreira at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in July, his welterweight debut in the UFC.

    UFC Fight Night 79 will air on UFC Fight Pass on November 28, with a main card start time of 8 AM eastern time, and a preliminary card start time of 4:45 AM eastern time. Also on the card is the return of Yoshihiro Akiyama, who takes on Alberto Mina.