Dan Henderson punches Mauricio “Shogun” Rua during the UFC 139. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A fight between Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida was made official as the co-main event for UFC 157 on Feb. 23, the company announced on Thursday.
The match will be the lead-in for the promotion’s first ever female headliner, when Ronda Rousey defends her women’s UFC title against Liz Carmouce at Southern California’s Honda Center.
The company also made a bantamweight bout between Urijah Faber and Ivan Menjivar official for the card.
Henderson (29-8) hasn’t fought since defeating former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139 in Novemeber 2011. The former Pride and Strikeforce champ was scheduled to meet Jon Jones at UFC 151 in September, but was forced to withdraw from the fight after sustaining a knee injury in training. Henderson’s absence from the card prompted Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, to cancel the event — a company-first since acquiring the MMA organization in 2001.
Machida (18-3) was last seen knocking out Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4 in August. “The Dragon” recently told GRACIEMAG.com that he anticipates Henderson to be a tough opponent, and feels the winner of their fight will be in line for a shot at the light heavyweight title.
Tickets for the event will go on sale Friday, Dec. 21 at 10 a.m.
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