Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar II targeted for UFC 150 in Denver
Benson Henderson's first defense of the UFC lightweight belt is likely to take place in Denver.
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with sources close to the event that Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 150, which is expected to take place on Aug. 11.
UFC officials have yet to make an official announcement regarding the event or the headliner. Contracts for the fight have yet to be distributed.
Denver's Pepsi Center may host UFC 150, but nothing has been finalized to date.
Edgar (14-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC), of course, surrendered the belt to Henderson (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at this past February's UFC 144 event.
UFC president Dana White initially encouraged Edgar to drop to 145 pounds and challenge UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo for the title. However, Edgar remained intent on fighting again for the lightweight belt, and a bit of fan lobbying and fighter encouragement eventually led White to change his mind and award a rematch to "The Answer."
Edgar is no stranger to rematches. Henderson marks the third-straight opponent that he's faced in two-consecutive fights after tussling with Gray Maynard and B.J. Penn twice each.
Meanwhile, former WEC champ Henderson looks to remain perfect under the UFC banner. "Smooth" was defeated by Anthony Pettis in the final WEC event but earned wins over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida to earn his title shot before taking the decision win over Edgar.
Pettis was initially expected to get the next shot at Henderson after earning a knockout win over Joe Lauzon at UFC 144. Instead, he now waits on a new opponent.
