The long wait for the lightweight rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson ended Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. All it took was slightly more than two minutes and it was over, and Chandler had removed all doubt over who was the better man with a thunderous first-round knockout.
Henderson came out hard at the start of the round, throwing stiff body kicks, using the shots to bring down Chandler's hands and open him up to overhand rights. It was a solid gameplan that was clicking along fine ... until it very suddenly wasn't.
Chandler switched to a southpaw stance and unleashed a straight left hand that landed clean to Henderson's jaw, locking up his body and sending him tumbling to the canvas. After a few solid shots on the ground by Chandler, the fight was stopped and he was awarded the TKO victory at the 2:09 mark of Round 1.
"[Switching to southpaw] was something we kind of worked on a little bit to maybe throw him off his game a little bit," Chandler said after his victory. "Benson is a champion, man. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared to death to step in the cage with that monster. He knows how to win and is a champion in and out of the cage. I'm trying to evolve and be a better me."
The fight was a rematch of a November 2016 clash won by then-lightweight champion Chandler by split decision. The wildly entertaining scrap practically demanded a rematch -- a rematch that was booked for last December, but Henderson was forced out of the bout due to injury and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the second meeting back even further.
The fight was the last of Chandler's current Bellator contract, and the three-time Bellator lightweight champ made it clear that he's ready for the next step in his career, whether that comes in the Bellator cage or in a new promotion such as the UFC.
"We'll see what happens. Every single lightweight on the entire planet, you're on the clock, you're on notice. [Bellator CEO] Scott Coker, you're on the clock, let's get something done."
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CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Friday with updates, results and highlights from Uncasville, Connecticut, with our live coverage of the main card below.
Bellator 243 fight card results
- Michael Chandler def. Benson Henderson via first-round TKO (punches)
- Timothy Johnson def. Matt Mitrione via first-round TKO (punches)
- Myles Jury def. Georgi Karakhanyan via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
- Sabah Homasi def. Curtis Millender via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)