Usman Nurmagomedov must now prove he can handle the target on his back.
The undefeated American Kickboxing Academy star will put his Bellator MMA lightweight championship on the line against Benson Henderson when their grand prix quarterfinal headlines Bellator 292 on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Nurmagomedov enters the cage with a perfect 16-0 record in tow. He last competed at Bellator 288, where he captured the 155-pound title with a five-round unanimous decision over Patricky Freire on Nov. 18. Henderson, meanwhile, has rattled off back-to-back wins ahead of the eight-man tournament. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder last appeared on Sept. 23, when he took a unanimous decision from Peter Queally at Bellator 285.
As Nurmagomedov and Henderson approach their upcoming battle at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
24: Years of age for Nurmagomedov, who was born on April 17, 1998 in Kizilyurt, Russia.
8: Nurmagomedov victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 50% of his career total (16). His list of victims includes Svyatoslav Shabanov, Jerry Kvarnstrom and Ruslan Tuyakov. Nurmagomedov owns five other victories by submission (31%) and three more by decision (19%).
105: Seconds needed for Nurmagomedov to put away Roman Golovinov with punches at a UAE Warriors show on Nov. 29, 2019. More than three years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
5: Countries in which Nurmagomedov has plied his mixed martial arts trade. He has gone 8-0 in his native Russia, 4-0 in the United States, 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates, 1-0 in Saudi Arabia and 1-0 in Kazakhstan.
.641: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—Freire, Christopher Gonzalez, Patrik Pietila, Luis Muro and Mike Hamel—Nurmagomedov has defeated as a member of the Bellator roster. They sport a combined record of 66-37.
39: Years of age for Henderson, who was born in Colorado Springs on Nov. 16, 1983.
9: Henderson wins by submission, accounting for 30% of his career total (30). His methods of choice: five guillotine chokes and four rear-naked chokes. Henderson holds five other wins by knockout or technical knockout (17%) and 16 more by decision (53%).
105: Rounds completed by Henderson as a professional mixed martial artist. The MMA Lab cornerstone has gone the distance on 23 different occasions and carries a 16-7 record in those bouts.
17: Consecutive calendar years in which Henderson has fought at least once. He went 1-0 in 2006, 3-1 in 2007, 3-0 in 2008, 3-0 in 2009, 2-1 in 2010, 3-0 in 2011, 3-0 in 2012, 1-1 in 2013, 2-1 in 2014, 2-1 in 2015, 1-2 in 2016, 0-1 in 2017, 2-0 in 2018, 2-0 in 2019, 0-2 in 2020, 0-1 in 2021 and 2-0 in 2022.
215: Combined victories between the nine men—Freire, Michael Chandler (twice), Anthony Pettis (twice), Brent Primus, Jason Jackson, Andrey Koreshkov, Donald Cerrone, Rafael dos Anjos and Rocky Johnson—who have beaten Henderson. They boast a cumulative .700 winning percentage at 215-92.
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