5 reasons to watch Saturday's Bellator 165, including what's possibly the weekend's best fight

Bellator keeps up its busy end-of-year schedule by going head-to-head with the UFC on Saturday for Bellator 165, and the promotion just might have a chance to pull in some decent ratings with these fights, especially the one at the top of the card.

In the main event, Michael Chandler, in his second stint as Bellator lightweight champion, puts the title he won in June on the line against former UFC lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson.

In the co-main event, Michael Page, one of the most electrifying fighters on the Bellator roster, faces Fernando Gonzalez in a fight that was booked and scratched on two previous occasions.

The fight card also features the professional debuts of Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez and “Baby Slice,” Kevin Ferguson Jr.

Bellator 165 takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Prelims stream on MMAjunkie before the Spike-televised main card.

Here five reasons to watch the event.

1. Here, have another shot

At Bellator 165, Henderson, the former WEC and UFC lightweight champ, gets his second chance at a Bellator title. Henderson’s first attempt at Bellator gold didn’t go well. In April then-welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov dominated Henderson and won all five rounds on his way to a decision victory.

In his next fight, Henderson dropped backed to lightweight to face former Bellator bantamweight champ Patricio Freire. Henderson, currently No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, won that fight by second-round TKO due to a leg injury, but before the stoppage, Henderson (24-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) was unimpressive and seemingly content to do little but wait for Freire to attack.

Chandler (15-3 MMA, 12-3 BMMA), a lightweight rankings honorable mention, is currently riding a three-fight stoppage streak. He most recently earned a first-round knockout win over Patricky Freire to claim the vacant lightweight strap.

Chandler has been aggressive and confident during his winning streak, and with a chance to notch a win over a former UFC champ, don’t expect that aggression to wane. With that in mind, the wait-and-see style that Henderson employed in his previous fight might actually be a wise choice in this contest.

2. A step up

Gonzalez might not be a household name, but he does represent a step up in competition for Page.

Gonzalez, a pro since 2003, has a significant height and reach disadvantage in this welterweight fight, but as he showed in his win over the much taller Curtis Millender at Bellator 137, he’s not afraid to eat strikes to get inside and work in close.

That plan is fraught with danger when facing Page (11-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), especially since Gonzalez (25-13 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is not the most fleet of foot. If Gonzalez is slow in making his move, the odds are high that he’ll catch one of Page’s unconventional strikes and become the latest addition to the prospect’s growing highlight reel.

If Gonzalez manages to get inside, he does possess the wrestling skill to take Page to the mat, where he will hold an advantage if he can remain in top position.

3. A chance to make a big move

In 2014 Linton Vassell was close to taking the Bellator light-heavyweight title from then-champ Emanuel Newton. He nearly submitted Newton on multiple occasions early in their Bellator 130 bout. Vassell paid the price for that aggression as the fight wore on, and he eventually tapped to a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.

Vassell got his revenge at Bellator 149 and beat Newton by unanimous decision. Unfortunately for Vassell, that was a non-title fight; Newton had surrendered the title to Liam McGeary in February 2015.

With the title now in the hands of Phil Davis, who defeated McGeary at Bellator 163, Vassell (16-5 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) could use a win against Francis Carmont (25-11 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to catapult himself back into the title picture. Working in Vassell’s favor is the fact that Davis has not fought Vassell since joining Bellator, but he does have wins over Muhammed Lawal and Carmont.

Like Vassell, Carmont enters this fight off a victory after submitting Lukasz Klinger at Bellator 158.

4. Comeback or come up?

Adam Piccolotti has quietly put together a four-fight winning streak since joining Bellator in early 2015, and he’s three of those fights by submission.

Piccolotti (8-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is a well-rounded fighter who has shown a good fight IQ. He’ll get his first big test when he faces Brandon Girtz (14-4 MMA, 6-2 BMMA).

Girtz is riding a three-fight winning streak, but the last win of that streak came nearly a year ago when he knocked out Derek Campos at Bellator 146. After that win, Campos underwent surgery for a torn ACL. He’s been on the shelf ever since.

For Girtz, this fight is a chance to show the surgery and time away haven’t affected him, and for Piccolotti, he can show that he’s ready to step up and face some of the top Bellator lightweights.

5. You might recognize these names

Kevin Ferguson Jr.

Two fighters with familiar last names make their professional MMA debuts at Bellator 165.

Taylor-Melendez, the wife of former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, put together a 4-1 record as a professional kickboxer before giving MMA a go. Expect Taylor-Melendez (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) to rely heavily on that base when she faces Sheila Padilla (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a flyweight matchup.

Padilla has two pro wins on her record, but she’s still relatively new to the sport – with both of those victories coming this year.

Ferguson Jr., son of the late Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, also debuts on this card. The anticipation of the younger Ferguson’s debut has risen a few notches over the past few months, mostly because his debut has been postponed twice since it was initially scheduled for August.

Ferguson Jr. (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has one amateur fight on his record, an 83-second knockout win in March. His opponent in this welterweight fight, Aaron Hamilton (0-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), has a pro record of 0-2, with those contests taking place in 2010 and earlier this year.

For more on Bellator 165, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.