Bellator took to Twitter yesterday to announce that they were returning to Dublin, Ireland. The promotion also announced the headliner of the show which will be a lightweight battle between Ireland’s Peter Queally (13-6-1) and former UFC champion Benson Henderson (29-11).
What’s interesting about the announcement is how far out it is. Bellator will not be hosting this event until September 23rd so the fight was announced six months in advance. Nevertheless, Dublin is getting a solid lightweight contest in the main event.
The last time we saw Peter Queally was back at Bellator 270 last November. That night, he fought Patricky Pitbull for the vacant lightweight title. Pibull was able to stop Queally in the second round by TKO.
This fight came on the heels of the two men fighting at Bellator 258 last May with Queally winning by doctor stoppage. Queally is getting right back at it and hopes that a win over Benson Henderson will get him another shot at Pitbull.
Henderson’s Final Bellator Run?
Back in 2016, Bellator made waves when they signed Benson Henderson away from the UFC. Henderson had moved to welterweight just before leaving the UFC and was coming off of a win against Jorge Masvidal when he joined the promotion.
Immediately, he went into a title shot at welterweight, but he came up short. Henderson started his Bellator career 1-3 to the surprise of everyone. Many, including myself, pegged him to be a future champion in the promotion.
After the rough start, Henderson rattled off three consecutive wins that led him to a second fight with Michael Chandler in 2020. Chandler knocked Henderson out in the first round which started a three-fight losing streak for Henderson.
He snapped that losing streak in January at Bellator 273 when he defeated Islam Mamedov by decision. Now, Henderson is back to 500 in Bellator with a record of 6-6 in 12 fights. Given his current stature and age, this might be his final run towards that elusive Bellator lightweight title.
If he’s able to defeat Queally in Dublin, I would expect a title shot to happen in early 2023. Look at this fight as a title eliminator in the lightweight division.