Mixed martial arts (MMA) retirements rarely stick.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion and two-time Bellator title challenger Benson Henderson is officially back. The 42-year-old will unretire and make his Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut against surging Welterweight prospect Patrick Habirora in the main event of PFL Brussels on Sat., May 23, 2026, inside ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium.
The fight will take place at Welterweight.
Henderson (30-12) originally stepped away from MMA after a first-round stoppage loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in early 2023 (watch highlights). But “Smooth” hasn’t exactly been sitting on the couch. During retirement, he competed in two grappling matches (watch highlights), faced longtime rival Anthony Pettis in Karate Combat, and even boxed twice under the Misfits Boxing banner.
Despite ending his MMA career on a loss, Henderson was competitive down the stretch, going 3-3 in his final six fights with wins over Peter Queally, Islam Mamedov, and Myles Jury.
His comeback assignment won’t be easy.
Habirora (8-0) is widely regarded as one of PFL’s brightest young prospects. The undefeated Belgian is 3-0 under the PFL banner, scoring three first-round knockouts — including finishes over former UFC fighters Danny Roberts and Kevin Jousset.
“The Belgian Bomber” owns an 88 percent finish rate, with seven of his eight wins coming by knockout.
It’s a classic squash fight: a 42-year-old former world champion versus an undefeated local rising star.
No additional bouts have been announced for PFL Brussels, but more fight news is expected in the coming weeks.
