Filed under: Bellator, Featured, News

Patricky Freire handed former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson his second straight split-decision loss.

In a fight that frequently dipped into a tactical stalemate, Freire’s (18-8 MMA, 11-7 BMMA) strong late-fight performance may have swayed judges against Henderson (24-8 MMA, 1-3 BMMA) with scores of 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28.

The lightweight headliner aired on Spike as the featured bout Bellator 183, which took place Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Prelims streamed on MMAjunkie.

After getting the decision, Freire made his case for another shot at Bellator gold by calling out current champ Brent Primus.

“I eat former champions for breakfast,” he said. “Brett Primus, you have my gold. You have my belt. You run two times. Two times, I come for you.”

By dispatching Henderson, Freire certainly narrowed the field of contenders. But his win fell short of the emphatic statement that often warrants a big opportunity. The matchup of styles didn’t help much, either.

Freire had a tough time getting inside to land punches on the southpaw Henderson, who proved an elusive target as he sniped to the body with kicks. Takedown attempts from Henderson in the second and third rounds ate up a sizable chunk of time as Freire wrestled to stay upright.

Only in the final frame did Freire seem to find his range, clipping Henderson with a left hook that briefly made the ex-champ take a knee. Henderson repaid the favor, and then took a right straight. A leaping knee rebuffed his forward advance.

It was a slim margin, but then again, most Henderson fights are decided on those. Freire has now won two straight after a knockout of former UFC standout and Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson, while Henderson drops to 1-3 in the Bellator cage.

Complete Bellator 183 results include:

• Patricky Freire def. Benson Henderson via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Paul Daley def. Lorenz Larkin via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:40
• Roy Nelson def. Jay Ayala via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
• Aaron Pico def. Justin Linn via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:45
  Goiti Yamauchi def. Adam Piccolotti via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:19
• Tony Johnson def. Mike Ortega via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:49
• Kaytlin Neil def. Brooke Mayo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brandon Laroco def. Gaston Bolanos via technical submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:16
• Jaimelene Nievera def. Corina Herrera via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
• Fernando Gonzalez def. Alex Lopez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Ricardo Vasquez def. Justin Tenedora via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:39
• J.J. Okanovich def. Luis Jauregui via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 0:42
• Daniel Gonzalez def. Anthony Castrejon via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:03

For complete coverage of Bellator 183, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

Filed under: Bellator, Featured, News