Benson Henderson, Brent Primus set to face off at Bellator 268

Bellator’s light heavyweight grand prix semifinals card just got even better.

On Thursday, the promotion announced via press release the addition of Benson Henderson vs. Brent Primus to Bellator 268 on Oct. 16, which features the light heavyweight grand prix semifinals matchup. The co-main event will be Corey Anderson vs. Ryan Bader and the main event semifinal matchup is also a title fight as Anthony Johnson takes on champion Vadim Nemkov.

The event takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ on Oct. 16. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET following prelims on MMA Junkie starting at 7 p.m. ET.

In his first fight of the calendar year, Henderson (28-10 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) will be looking to snap a two-fight losing skid, having lost to Jason Jackson and Michael Chandler in his two previous outings. Prior to his recent challenges, Henderson was riding high on a four-fight win streak.

The event will be a family outing for Henderson, as his wife, Maria Henderson, will compete in an amateur strawweight bout on the prelims of the card. She successfully competed in her first amateur bout in February at LFA 100, winning via unanimous decision.

Former Bellator lightweight champion Primus (10-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will step inside the Bellator cage for the second time in 2021, looking to rebound from a split decision loss to Islam Mamedov at Bellator 263. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak with victories over Tim Wilde and Chris Bungard, both of which were first-round submission wins.

With the addition of Henderson vs. Primus, the Bellator 263 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m ET)

• Vadim Nemkov vs. Anthony Johnson – for light heavyweight title, grand prix semifinal
• Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson – light heavyweight grand prix semifinal
• Benson Henderson vs. Brent Primus
• Henry Corrales vs. Vladyslav Parubchenko

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

• Julius Anglickas vs. Karl Albrektsson
• Erik Perez vs. Brett Johns
• Sullivan Cauley vs. Deon Clash
• Nick Browne vs. Bobby Lee
• Javier Torres vs. Gregory Milliard
• Sumiko Inaba vs. Randi Field
• Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Raymond Pina