Bellator 243 results, highlights: Michael Chandler stops Benson Henderson in Round 1 as free agency begins

Chandler upped his stock on the MMA free-agent market by quickly putting his rivalry with Henderson to bed

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)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:53 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Michael Chandler def. Benson Henderson via TKO (punches), Round 1

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:52 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Chandler lands a left hand and Henderson is down! Chandler unloads with punches on the ground and this one is over!

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:51 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Henderson used the body shots to open a big right to the head of Chandler. Chandler is still working leg kicks and Henderson keeps going to the body with the heavy kicks and following with overhand rights.

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:50 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

The fight is underway and the men are trading kicks to the legs and body early in Round 1 with Henderson landing a pair of big body kicks.

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:40 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Benson Henderson vs. Michael Chandler 2 is up next, our lightweight main event of the evening.

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:25 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Matt Mitrione vs. Timothy Johnson -- Round 1: Mitrione went down as the two came together, with Johnson's head hitting Mitrione's chin. Johnson took advantage, taking side control and throwing a few punches to Mitrione's head. Jonson continued to smother, landing punches and forcing Mitrione to deal with weight and pressure. Johnson continued landing big shots as Mitrione tried to get to his feet, but Mitrione stopped and simply covered up as Johnson fired away until the fight was stopped. Official result: Timothy Johnson def. Matt Mitrione via TKO (punches)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:09 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Matt Mitrione vs. Timothy Johnson is up next in the heavyweight co-main event

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:03 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Myles Jury def. Georgi Karakhanyan via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 11:00 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Myles Jury vs. Georgi Karakhanyan -- Round 3: Jury landed some solid elbows before Karakhanyan poked him in the eye, the action was not stopped, however and Jury landed a few more strikes before fending off a Karakhanyan takedown attempt. Karakhanyan took Jury down for two seconds before they went back to the feet and Jury began landing hard elbows at a high frequency. Jury pushed Karakhanyan into the cage and Karakhanyan jumped into a guillotine but Jury was able to escape to claim top position. Karakhanyan tried for a triangle choke, but Jury remained safe and worked some ground and pound. Jury nearly took the back, but settled to end up back in the guard, working heavy ground and pound before they stood to end the round. An easy Jury round, if he managed to scrape out one of the close first two rounds, he may get this one. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Jury (29-28 Karakhanyan)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 10:54 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Myles Jury vs. Georgi Karakhanyan -- Round 2: The round opened with both men trading leg kicks. Jury pushed Karakhanyan into the cage but was quickly reversed. Back in the center of the cage, Jury landed a knee to the body but Karakhanyan drove forward, pushing Jury into the cage again. The round remained a battle of clinching against the cage until Karakhanyan almost scored a takedown in the final moments while Jury landed elbows to the head. Another mostly uneventful round that likely tilts Karakhanyan's way. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Karakhanyan (20-18 Karakhanyan)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 10:48 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Myles Jury vs. Georgi Karakhanyan -- Round 1: Jury opened up popping with leg kicks from the outside, which Karakhanyan responded to in kind. They traded heavy right hands, but both took them well. Karakhanyan pushed Jury into the cage, looking for a takedown, but not making much progress getting the fight to the floor. Jury reversed position and threw some shoulder strikes and some clinch knees before the end of the round. Karakhanyan probably takes that one via control. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Karakhanyan

[Aug 7, 2020 at 10:37 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Up next: Myles Jury vs. Georgi Karakhanyan, lightweights

[Aug 7, 2020 at 10:31 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Sabah Homasi def. Curtis Millender via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

[Aug 7, 2020 at 10:28 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Curtis Millender vs. Sabah Homasi -- Round 3:  Homasi landed a looping right hand but Millender landed a good series of long jabs and kicks. Homasi scored with a takedown but Millender nearly locked up a choke again. Homasi managed to escape the hold and end up on top in half guard. Homasi advanced to take the back of Millender and sunk both of his hooks with about a minute left. Millender managed to get to reverse to end up on top and land some ground and pound in the final seconds of the round, but it was likely too little, too late for him. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Homasi (30-27 Homasi)