Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson have verbally agreed to fight each other under the Karate Combat banner.
In December 2010, Pettis and Henderson were matched up at WEC 53, with the latter holding the lightweight title. Once the dust settled, ‘Showtime’ emerged victorious by unanimous decision to become the new 155-pound king.
Over two and a half years later, the legendary MMA fighters met again in August 2013, this time in the UFC. Similar to their first fight, Henderson was the lightweight champion, and Pettis successfully dethroned him.
Instead of a decision win, ‘Showtime’ made a statement in their rematch by securing a first-round armbar submission.
Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson will now fight for a third time under a different ruleset. According to MMA Fighting, the former UFC lightweight champions have signed on for a 170-pound fight at Karate Combat 43, which takes place on December 15 in Las Vegas.
The recent announcement was the first blockbuster fight confirmed since Karate Combat changed presidents. Earlier this week, Adam Kovacs stepped down, and Asim Zaidi, the owner of Goat Shed, confirmed he accepted the job.
Karate Combat 43 could also feature several other high-profile MMA fighters, as the following people are rumored to be negotiating with the promotion – Luke Rockhold, Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo, and more.
Anthony Pettis releases statement about upcoming fight against Benson Henderson
Anthony Pettis parted ways with the UFC following a win against Alex Morono in December 2020. Since then, he’s been adventuring out by fighting under the PFL banner and a boxing match with Roy Jones Jr, which ‘Showtime’ won by a majority decision.
Following the Karate Combat 43 announcement, Pettis released a statement about his upcoming fight, which was shared by MMA Fighting:
“I am excited to announce my next endeavor with the Karate Combat family. I am returning to my traditional martial arts roots for this one. I am the most complete and exciting striker in martial arts and I will show the world where my expertise in MMA comes from. I want to help grow this sport and I can’t wait to put on a show for this organization. It’s Showtime!”
Anthony Pettis suffered back-to-back losses against Stevie Ray in the PFL before fighting 54-year-old Roy Jones Jr. Despite the minor backlash of the matchup, Pettis emerged victorious in the March boxing match and plans to obtain another accomplishment in December of this year.
As for Benson Henderson, he officially retired from MMA after suffering a first-round submission loss against Usman Nurmagomedov on March 10. Henderson now looks to test himself under a new ruleset, which could spark another chapter in his legendary career.
