Benson Henderson vs. Islam Mamedov, Multiple Other Bouts Added to Bellator 273

A lightweight showdown between Benson Henderson and Islam Mamedov will serve as the co-main event for Bellator 273, promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Bellator 273 takes place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix and is headlined by a heavyweight title unification bout between reigning champ Ryan Bader and interim king Valentin Moldavsky. The main card airs on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the prelims stream at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel, the Bellator YouTube channel and Pluto TV.

Two other bouts were confirmed for the main card: Henry Corrales vs. Aiden Lee at featherweight and Sabah Homasi vs. Jaleel Willis at welterweight. Meanwhile, the preliminary draw has three new additions: Saad Awad vs. Christopher Gonzalez at lightweight; Romero Cotton vs. Dalton Rosta at middleweight and Sullivan Cauley vs. Ben Parrish at light heavyweight.

A former UFC lightweight champion, Henderson enters the matchup with Mamedov on a three-fight skid within the California-based promotion. After falling to Michael Chandler and Jason Jackson in 2020, “Smooth” dropped a three-round verdict to Brent Primus in his lone appearance of 2021 at Bellator 268 on Oct. 16. Henderson is 5-6 in Bellator overall.

Mamedov looks like a talent to watch at 155 pounds after defeating Primus via split decision in his promotional debut at Bellator 263. The former Professional Fighters League competitor is unbeaten in his last 20 professional outings with wins over the likes of Thiago Tavares, Natan Schulte and Jorge Patino.