It was recently announced that Benson Henderson and Rafael dos Anjos will go head-to-head at a UFC Fight Night event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23.
At first glance, it seems like an odd matchup to make.
Henderson asserted himself as the best lightweight in the UFC not named Anthony Pettis when he submitted Rustam Khabilov earlier this month. Dos Anjos, on the other hand, beat Jason High (who was making his lightweight debut) at the same event and was convincingly beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov in his last fight before the High bout.
It raises the question: Why didn’t the UFC brass book a Henderson vs. Nurmagomedov bout instead?
One reason is that the undefeated Russian is a devout Muslim who will fast during the month of Ramadan, which takes place between late June and late July.
Nurmagomedov has said that he wants a fight in early September, five weeks after the holy month. However, if he does fight at that time it will likely not be against the No. 1 contender.
With that out of the way, a fight between Bendo and Dos Anjos is the best non-title matchup that can be made at 155 pounds when taking rankings and resumes into account.
Putting the loss to Nurmagomedov aside, Dos Anjos has proven himself to be one of the top lightweights in the UFC. The Brazilian has won six of his last seven fights in the Octagon, with Donald Cerrone, Evan Dunham and Mark Bocek among his victims.
That has put Dos Anjos at fifth spot on the UFC’s official lightweight rankings. Nurmagomedov is one place ahead of him in fourth spot, while Josh Thomson—who is scheduled to fight Michael Johnson—is in third. Pettis’s next challenger, Gilbert Melendez is No. 2 on the list, with Bendo at No. 1.
A main event fight against a top contender like Henderson may also be a reward from the UFC for being the only fighter to step up against Nurmagomedov.
UFC President Dana White said in January that he had struggled to find fighters willing to fight the 22-0 lightweight after some fighters, including Nate Diaz, were said to have declined offers to face him.
Dos Anjos stepped up to the plate, however.
He was set to fight Rustam Khabilov at UFC 170, but the bout was ultimately scrapped in order for Dos Anjos to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne.
That fight may not have gone Dos Anjos’ way, but he now has a chance to redeem himself against another, more established, top lightweight in Benson Henderson.
It’s not a lose-lose situation for Henderson, though. Unlike Khabilov, Dos Anjos is a proven top-five fighter in the UFC, and a Henderson victory would mean that he will have wins over five of the other six fighters in the top seven.
While it would still be hard to sell a third fight against Pettis (who beat Henderson in both of their previous bouts), the UFC brass may have no other choice if both fighters win their next contests.
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