Benson Henderson vs. Jorge Masvidal possible as new UFC Fight Night 79 headliner

Jorge Masvidal

It appears Jorge Masvidal may get the opportunity to headline his first UFC event.

Following a rib injury suffered by Thiago Alves (21-10 MMA, 13-7 UFC), former lightweight champion Benson Henderson (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is left without an opponent for this month’s UFC Fight Night 79 welterweight headliner.

However, Masvidal (29-9 MMA, 6-2 UFC) could move from his co-headliner with 170-pounder Dong Hyun Kim (20-3-1 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and into main-event fill-in duties, according to MMAFighting.com. Sources close to the event told MMAjunkie a decision hasn’t been finalized, but a UFC official said a decision and announcement could come during tonight’s UFC 193 pay-per-view broadcast.

It’s not clear if Kim would remain on the card, which takes place Nov. 28 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The entire card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC Fight Night 79 already suffered one major hit: MMA legend Mirko Filipovic (31-11-2 MMA, 5-6 UFC) pulled out of the fight after a shoulder injury and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation earlier this week, and opponent Anthony Hamilton (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) was pulled from the card altogether.

Masvidal would certainly be a credible opponent for Henderson, who recently picked up a welterweight win over Brandon Thatch and appears to be sticking in the division. “Gamebred,” a former Strikeforce fighter, is 4-1 over his past five fights, and the lone loss during the stretch came via split decision to Al Iaquinta. Most recently, he scored a knockout victory over Cezar Ferreira.

The latest UFC Fight Night 79 card includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 8 a.m. ET)

• Benson Henderson vs. opponent TBA
• Dong Hyun Kim vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alberto Mina
• Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Dominique Steele

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4:45 a.m. ET)

• Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
• Jake Collier vs. Dongi Yang
• Yui Chul Nam vs. Mike De La Torre
• Tae Hyun Bang vs. Leo Kuntz
• Cortney Casey vs. Seo Hee Ham
• Fredy Serrano vs. Yao Zhikui
• Marco Beltran vs. Ning Guangyou

For more on UFC Fight Night 79, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.