Bellator 268 Lineup Set; Benson Henderson vs. Brent Primus Among New Bouts

: A lightweight showdown between former champions @BensonHenderson and @brentprimus155 along with @HenryCorrales86 vs. Vladyslav Parubchenko have been added to an already stacked #Bellator268 card on October 16th at the @FootprintCNTR.

Full Story: https://t.co/9d4BKLyfFy pic.twitter.com/v3lE6BysuA

— Bellator Public Relations (@BellatorPR) September 9, 2021

Bellator MMA is looking to put its best foot forward in what could be its last American show for some time.

The organization announced via press release on Thursday its full lineup of Bellator 268, which will be held inside the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Oct. 16. While it made official several previously billed matchups including both light heavyweight semifinals of Vadim Nemkov vs. Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson, it filled out the card to 12 total bouts. Among the newly announced pairings is a lightweight scrap between Benson Henderson (28-10) and Brent Primus (10-2).

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Henderson has fallen on hard times since a four-fight win streak that earned him a rematch with then-champion Michael Chandler. The streak came to an emphatic end in August 2020 when Chandler punched him out in just over two minutes. A rebound effort up a weight class at welterweight against Jason Jackson did not go his way either, as he appeared the smaller man and dropped a clear-cut decision to prompt his return back to 155 pounds.

Primus, who at one time held the Bellator lightweight strap, lost it in his rematch with Chandler in 2018. A pair of submissions including an ultra-rare Gogoplata over Tim Wilde led to a high stakes battle with once-beaten Islam Mamedov. The Russian prevailed by contentious split decision to put an end to Primus’ victorious stretch. The Oregonian celebrates a career finish rate of 80 percent.

Other new matches released or confirmed for Bellator 268 include a light heavyweight battle between the once-beaten Julius Anglickas (10-1) and the resurgent Karl Albrektsson (12-3). At lightweight, Nick Browne (11-1) takes on Bobby Lee (12-6), while Mexico’s Javier Torres (11-5, 1 NC) faces Aruba native Gregory Milliard (12-6) in the middleweight division. Finally, Henderson’s wife, Maria Henderson, will meet Collette Santiago in an amateur strawweight clash to start off the evening.

Bellator 268 Lineup:

Vadim Nemkov vs. Anthony Johnson – light heavyweight championship, semifinal
Ryan Bader vs. Corey Anderson – light heavyweight semifinal
Benson Henderson vs. Brent Primus – lightweight
Henry Corrales vs. Vladyslav Parubchenko – featherweight
Julius Anglickas vs. Karl Albrektsson – light heavyweight
Erik Perez vs. Brett Johns – bantamweight
Sullivan Cauley vs. Deon Clash – light heavyweight
Nick Browne vs. Bobby Lee – lightweight
Javier Torres vs. Gregory Milliard – middleweight
Sumiko Inaba vs. Randi Field – women’s flyweight
Lance Gibson Jr. vs. Raymond Pina – lightweight
Maria Henderson vs. Collette Santiago – amateur women’s strawweight