DUBLIN – Benson Henderson didn’t take much notice of Myles Jury when they shared a card under the UFC banner more than six years ago. On Friday, though, they will fight each other in the Bellator 227 main event.

In April 2013, Henderson (27-8 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) made what would be his final UFC lightweight title defense when he edged Gilbert Melendez in the main event of UFC on FOX 7. That same night, a then-undefeated Jury (17-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) made his third octagon appearance, scoring a highlight-reel knockout of Ramsey Nijem.

There weren’t many reasons for Jury to be on Henderson’s radar at that point. And he wasn’t.

“I didn’t take special notice to Myles,” Henderson told MMA Junkie. “But he’s tough and he’s been around. The only thing I remember about Myles was the Donald Cerrone fight where he got beat up pretty good. That’s all I remembered of him.”

Jury’s unanimous decision loss to Cerrone at UFC 182 in January 2015 marked the first loss of his MMA career. He won 15-straight prior to that point, but that first loss revealed more to Henderson than any of the success prior.

“He did quit a little in that Donald Cerrone fight. He showed that he is willing to quit when he faces a really tough, top-notch guy that he is willing to quit. He does have a quit button in there on him.”

Just days away from their lightweight encounter at Bellator 227, which takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, Henderson has a much more complete perspective on his opponent.

Although Jury is just 2-2 since that loss to Cerrone, “Smooth” said he has better idea of what to expect. He sees quit in Jury, he said, but knows it’s not going to come out easily.

“He’s actually a lot tougher than I gave him credit for,” Henderson said. “I watched his other fights and saw he’s a lot tougher than I thought. He had some really tough, gutsy performances where he could’ve taken the easy way out and quit, but he fought through and did a good job. He’s got a lot more skills than I thought.”

No matter how tough Jury is, though, Henderson said he intends on finding that breaking point. The former UFC and WEC champion wants to add Bellator gold to his resume, and with the momentum of a three-fight winning streak, is likely on the cusp of fighting for the belt.

Henderson already owns a win over Bellator 155-pound titleholder Patricio Freire, and he is prepared to do it again.

“I just want to keep fighting and keep getting my hand raised,” Henderson said. “I want to get the title shot next. When Patricio wants to get beat up again, they can send him my way, no problem.”