Bellator 183 takes place on Saturday night from the SAP Center in San Jose, California and will be headlined by a key matchup in the lightweight division as former Bellator title challengers will face off when Benson Henderson takes on Patricky “Pitbull” Freire.
In the co-main event of the main card on Spike, Lorenz Larkin will return to competition for the first time since losing his Bellator debut against welterweight champion Douglas Lima as he will look to bounce back against Paul Daley.
Now let’s take a closer look at the five fights that will take place on the main card of Bellator 183.
Benson Henderson (24-7) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (17-8)
After being part of the UFC roster for five years, Benson Henderson made his Bellator debut last year and has gone 1-2 in the promotion. He enters this fight following a split decision lost against Michael Chandler in a lightweight title fight last year and he has been on the sidelines for the last ten months due to a knee injury.
- 4th longest average fight time (18:02) in UFC history (Minimum 5 UFC fights, Dominick Cruz #1, 21:00)
- Former WEC and UFC lightweight champion.
- Holds a TKO victory (Doctor Stoppage) against current UFC featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire has been in Bellator since 2011 and this will be his 18th fight in the promotion. Since the beginning of 2016, he’s gone 3-1 and he is coming off a knockout victory against Josh Thomson at Bellator 72 in February.
- When Patricky steps into the Bellator cage on Saturday, he will tie David Rickels, Patricio Freire, and Joe Warren for the most fights in Bellator history (18).
- Currently tied with Rick Hawn, King Mo Lawal, and Eduardo Dantas for the 5th most wins in Bellator history.
- Most TKO/KO wins in Bellator lightweight division history and 2nd most in Bellator history overall.
Paul Daley (39-15-2) vs. Lorenz Larkin (18-6, 1 NC)
Paul Daley will look to get back into the Bellator welterweight title picture as he’s coming off a submission defeat against Rory MacDonald. Daley has gone 2-2 in his last four fights and both of those wins have come by knockout in the first round.
- Currently tied with Lyman Good for the 3rd most TKO/KO wins in Bellator welterweight division history.
- Since coming back to Bellator, he’s gone 4-2 and three of those wins have come by TKO/KO.
Lorenz Larkin came up short earlier this year at becoming the Bellator welterweight champion when he lost a decision against Douglas Lima at Bellator NYC. The defeat snapped a two fight winning streak and he’s 4-2 in his last six fights.
- Tied with Nate Diaz for the 3rd best Strikes Landed per Minute (5.34) in UFC welterweight division history (Minimum 5 UFC fights, Duane Ludwig #1, 6.72)
- Three of his last four victories have come by TKO.
Roy Nelson (22-14) vs. Javy Ayala (10-5)
Bellator 183 will mark the promotional debut of Roy Nelson as he looks to put himself into title contention in the Bellator heavyweight division. He enters Bellator following a decision defeat against former Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov at UFC on FOX 24 and he’s 2-2 in his last four fights.
- Most total fight time (3:22:33) in UFC heavyweight history (Junior dos Santos #2, 3:03:55)
- Tied with Matt Mitrione for the 3rd most TKO/KO wins (9) in UFC heavyweight division history (Junior dos Santos #1, 12)
After dropping back to back fights in Bellator in 2015 and 2016, Javy Ayala has won back to back fights and is coming offf a 16-second knockout victory against Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 163 last year. Since making his Bellator debut in 2013, Ayala is 5-2 in the promotion and all of those wins have come by stoppage.
- His victory over Kharitonov is the 2nd fastest victory in Bellator heavyweight division history (Eddie Sanchez holds fastest with his 10-second victory against Jay White at Bellator 7).
- Tied with Vitaly Minakov for the most TKO/KO wins in Bellator heavyweight division history.
Aaron Pico (0-1) vs. Justin Linn (7-3)
After being unsuccessful in his professional debut at Bellator NYC, highly touted prospect Aaron Pico will look to get back on track when he meets Justin Linn. Pico’s pro debut ended quickly in June as Zach Freeman scored a submission win in 24-seconds.
- 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials Senior Men Freestyle Wrestling 65 kg 2nd place
- 2009 National Junior Golden Gloves Championship Champion
Just like Pico, Justin Linn enters this fight following a defeat as he lost a decision against former UFC fighter Cody Gibson. That fight took place in April of last year and Linn will be looking for his first victory since 2014.
- Six of his seven wins have come by stoppage.
- Last victory came on September 12, 2014 against Adrian Cruz.
Adam Piccolotti (9-0) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (21-3)
After being forced to pull out of a fight earlier this year, Adam Piccolotti returns to Bellator cage and will be seeking his sixth win in Bellator. In his last matchup, he scored a decision win at Bellator 165 against Brandon Girtz and it marked his third career win by decision.
- Tied with Eddie Alvarez, Alexander Sarnavskiy, and Dave Jansen for the 3rd most submission wins in Bellator lightweight division history (Marcin Held #1, 5)
- Bellator 183 will mark the first fight for Piccolotti in ten months.
After opening his Bellator run at featherweight, Goiti Yamauchi returned to lightweight last year and has won back to back fights. Both of those wins came by submission in the opening round and he’s 7-2 in Bellator.
- Tied with Alexandre Bezerra for the 2nd most submission wins in Bellator history.
- Three of his last four wins have come by submission in the opening round.
The complete Bellator 183: Henderson vs. Pitbull fight card is below.
Main Card (Spike – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Benson Henderson (24-7) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (17-8)
Paul Daley (39-15-2) vs. Lorenz Larkin (18-6, 1 NC)
Roy Nelson (22-14) vs. Javy Ayala (10-5)
Aaron Pico (0-1) vs. Justin Linn (7-3)
Adam Piccolotti (9-0) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (21-3)
Preliminary Card (Bellator.com – 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
Brooke Mayo (0-1) vs. Kaytlin Neil (0-2)
Fernando Gonzalez (1-0) vs. Alex Lopez (3-0)
Gaston Bolanos (1-0) vs. Brandon Laroco (1-1)
Tony Johnson (4-3) vs. Mike Ortega (2-3)
Justin Tenedora (1-0) vs. Ricardo Vasquez (0-0)
Jaimelene Nievera (4-3) vs. Corina Herrera (3-3)
J.J. Okanovich (4-1) vs. Luis Jauregui (4-2)
Daniel Gonzalez (1-0) vs. Anthony Castrejon (1-1)