{"id":4695,"date":"2026-03-04T03:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T03:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/4695\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T03:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T03:11:13","slug":"patrick-habirora-headlines-pfl-brussels-against-mma-legend-benson-henderson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/4695\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Habirora headlines PFL Brussels against MMA legend Benson Henderson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Professional Fighters League is heading back to Belgium, and this time, they&#8217;re bringing one of Europe&#8217;s most electrifying prospects to center stage.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">On May 23, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/5klabastoss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@5klabastoss<\/a> meets <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BensonHenderson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@BensonHenderson<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PFLBrussels?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#PFLBrussels<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ingarenabxl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@ingarenabxl<\/a> in Belgium <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/APv40ImkP6\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/APv40ImkP6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 PFL Public Relations (@PFL_PR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PFL_PR\/status\/2028558698847846520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>PFL officially announced that PFL Brussels will take place on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the iconic ING Arena, with undefeated welterweight Patrick \u201cThe Belgian Bomber\u201d Habirora (8-0) headlining against MMA legend Benson \u201cSmooth\u201d Henderson (30-12). It&#8217;s a classic prospect-versus-veteran showdown, and the stakes couldn&#8217;t be higher for both fighters.<\/p>\n<p>The Bomber Is Ready for His Biggest Test<\/p>\n<p>For Habirora, this fight is a statement opportunity. The Belgian-born welterweight has bulldozed his way through eight professional opponents, finishing seven of them by KO or TKO, and his most recent performance only added fuel to the growing hype surrounding his name. Last December at PFL Lyon, Habirora stormed through Kevin Jousset in the first round, dropping the Frenchman with thunderous strikes before swarming with ground-and-pound in front of a roaring crowd. It was the kind of performance that turns prospects into stars.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fr\">Patrick Habirora \u00e9teint K\u00e9vin Jousset au 1er round \ud83e\udd76\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BvtruJoFSf\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/BvtruJoFSf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DSportsContent (@DSportsContent) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DSportsContent\/status\/1999936093618319649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">December 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now ranked No. 10 at welterweight, Habirora gets the biggest name of his young career on home soil. Fighting in Brussels, with the Belgian crowd firmly behind him, the 8-0 wrecking machine will look to add a true MMA legend to his resume, and in doing so, announce himself as a legitimate title contender.<\/p>\n<p>Henderson Arrives With a Point to Prove<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t sleep on Benson Henderson. The former WEC and UFC Lightweight Champion has been one of MMA&#8217;s most decorated competitors for nearly two decades, with victories over Nate Diaz, Frankie Edgar (twice), and Jorge Masvidal on his record. That&#8217;s not a highlight reel, that&#8217;s a hall-of-fame career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmooth\u201d has recently been sharpening his craft across multiple disciplines, including grappling, karate, wrestling, and boxing, signaling that his competitive fire hasn&#8217;t dimmed one bit. Henderson arrives in Brussels with a championship pedigree, battle-tested experience, and something to prove to anyone who thinks his best days are behind him.<\/p>\n<p>PFL Brussels kicks off at 6 PM CEST \/ 12 PM EST on May 23. With a stacked upcoming schedule that includes stops in Madrid, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Belfast, and Sioux Falls before arriving in Belgium, the PFL&#8217;s 2026 run is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious in the organization&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Professional Fighters League is heading back to Belgium, and this time, they&#8217;re bringing one of Europe&#8217;s most&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,3449],"class_list":{"0":"post-4695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-brussels","9":"tag-mma"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116168719258185129","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}