Benson Henderson's return, Roy Nelson's debut at Bellator 183; Bellator 181 gets new headliner

Benson Henderson’s return and the debut of Roy Nelson will happen on the same night at Bellator 183, the promotion announced tonight during the Spike-televised broadcast of Bellator 180.

Henderson (24-7 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) will compete in the evening’s headliner against Patricky Freire (17-8 MMA, 10-7 BMMA), who no longer will headline next month’s Bellator 181 event. Nelson (22-14 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), meanwhile, will be featured in the co-main event against Javy Ayala (10-5 MMA, 5-2 BMMA).

Bellator 183 takes place Sept. 23 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and will air on Spike, with prelims streaming on MMAjunkie.

Henderson is coming off knee surgery in December to repair a torn “ACL, MCL, two meniscus and a bunch of loose cartilage,” he told MMAjunkie in April. The former UFC lightweight champion is 1-2 in three Bellator appearances, most recently dropping a split decision to champ Michael Chandler last November.

Freire had been scheduled to face Derek Campos next month in the Bellator 181 main event but won’t with the new booking. “Pitbull” has won three of his last four fights, including a knockout of Josh Thomson in his last fight at Bellator 172.

Nelson, who spent 8 years in the UFC, will be making his Bellator debut after signing with the company in May. He’s dropped five of his past seven bouts overall, with his most recent victory coming against Antonio Silva at UFC Fight Night 95 in September.

In Ayala, Nelson will be facing a fighter riding a two-fight winning streak that includes a 16-second knockout of Sergei Kharitonov last November at Bellator 163.

As a result of Freire moving to Bellator 183, the promotion also announced he would be replaced by Brandon Girtz (14-6 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) to face Campos (18-6 MMA, 7-4 BMMA) in a trilogy fight in the new Bellator 181 main event July 14 in Verona, N.Y. The two have split their previous two bouts.

For more on Bellator 183 and Bellator 181, visit the MMA Rumors section of the site.