Michael Chandler knocked out Benson Henderson in the main event of Bellator 243, in the organization’s second live event following a five-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chandler became the just the second fighter to stop Henderson with strikes, the first since Rafael Dos Anjos did so in the UFC in 2014.
This was a rematch of a 2016 fight that ended in a five-round split decision win for Chandler back when he was the Bellator lightweight champion.
Chandler (21-5) lost the title to Patricio Freire at Bellator 221 in May of 2019.
Henderson (28-9) had a four-fight winning streak snapped. The former UFC and WEC champion has gone 5-4 in Bellator since leaving the UFC in 2016.
Timothy Johnson finished Matt Mitrione in the heavyweight co-main event and rising star Valerie Loureda picked up an impressive victory over Tara Graff on the preliminary card.
Complete Bellator 243 results:
MAIN CARD
— Michael Chandler def. Benson Henderson by knockout
— Timothy Johnson def. Matt Mitrione by TKO
— Myles Jury def. Georgi Karakhanyan by split decision
— Sabah Homasi def. Curtis Millender by unanimous decision
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Adam Borics def. Mike Hamel by split decision
— Cris Lencioni def. AJ Agazarm by unanimous decision
— Valerie Loureda def. Tara Graff by TKO
— Grant Neal def. Hamza Salim by unanimous decision
— Charlie Campbell def. Nainoa Dung by TKO (leg kicks)
— Dalton Rosta def. Mark Gardner by TKO (doctor’s stoppage)
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