Michael Chandler played a little reverse psychology on himself, sleeping Benson Henderson despite expecting to go all five rounds.
Chandler (21-5) put Henderson (28-9) into another dimension with big punches at 2:09 of round one. Chandler caught Henderson early with a mean left hand that dropped the former UFC champion. The three-time Bellator titleholder followed up with a mean shot to Henderson's scalp that turned off the lights. The quick finish likely came as a surprise to Chandler, who had expected to go five full rounds with the notoriously evasive Henderson.
.@MikeChandlerMMA gets it done in round 1️⃣.#Bellator243 pic.twitter.com/yQbBhtY2PH
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 8, 2020
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared to death stepping into the cage with that monster," Chandler admitted. Afterwards, he touched on his contract status. "Every lightweight on the planet, you're on the clock, you're on notice. Scott Coker, you're on the clock, you're on notice."
.@MikeChandlerMMA and @BensonHenderson are wasting no time getting after it early in round one!#Bellator243 pic.twitter.com/kHEhPjhAqG
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 8, 2020
Chandler is now 2-0 against Henderson, eking out a split decision in their first meeting back in 2016. He is riding a two-fight winning streak since losing the Bellator Lightweight title to champ-champ Patrício Freire. Follow along with Fightful for full coverage of Bellator 243.
