Benson Henderson should have stayed retired as the former UFC lightweight champion suffered a brutal 21-second knockout loss in his return to the cage earlier this evening (Sat., May 23, 2026) at PFL Brussels from inside ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium, losing to undefeated hometown welterweight Patrick Habirora just 20 seconds into the main event.
Henderson, 42, was making his first MMA appearance since a submission loss to Usman Nurmagomedov back in 2023. “Smooth” has competed in some boxing and grappling matches since then, but nothing that put his aging body at complete risk. That all changed Saturday when the former UFC star went up against a hungry young finisher in Habirora.
This headliner didn’t last long at all. It took Habirora just 21 seconds to overwhelm Henderson and land a perfectly-placed left hook. Henderson went down hard as Habirora jumped on top for violent ground-and-pound before the referee stepped in for the stoppage. It was complete dominance by “The Belgian Bomber” and a shocking realization for Henderson.