Sherdog.com confirmed the pairing with a promotion official on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 208 takes place on Oct. 13 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., and will be headlined by a heavyweight grand prix semifinal showdown between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen. The main card will be televised on Paramount Network.
Henderson halted a two-fight skid with a second-round submission of Roger Huerta at Bellator 196 on April 6. The former UFC lightweight champion is 2-3 thus far during his tenure with the California-based promotion, with his defeats coming at the hands of Patricky Freire, Michael Chandler and Andrey Koreshkov.
Awad, meanwhile, enters the matchup with Henderson riding the momentum of a four-bout winning streak. Most recently, the Milennia MMA representative scored a first-round TKO of Ryan Couture at Bellator 201. The longtime Bellator veteran is 11-6 during his time with the California-based organization.