Benson Henderson-Rustam Khabilov Set to Headline UFC’s June 7 Albuquerque Debut
Benson Henderson is trying to get back in the UFC title picture.
| Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and once-beaten prospect Rustam Khabilov will square off when the Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its way to Albuquerque, N.M., this summer.
Promotion officials confirmed the booking this morning following a report from the Albuquerque Journal. The 155-pound bout will headline a UFC Fight Night event on June 7 at the 11,000-seat Tingley Coliseum.
Henderson, 30, took the UFC title from Frankie Edgar in February 2012 and made three successful defenses of the belt before submitting to an Anthony Pettis armbar last August. The MMA Lab representative rebounded in January with a controversial, split-decision victory over former Strikeforce ace Josh Thomson.
Khabilov will have home-field advantage against the ex-champ, as the 27-year-old Dagestan native now fights out of Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque. After winning his first three bouts in the Octagon, “Tiger” was set to meet Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 170 but was forced to withdraw due to an unspecified injury.
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