5 reasons to watch Bellator 196 with hastily assembled Benson Henderson-Roger Huerta headliner

Bellator has a busy schedule planned for April with three events. The first of those fight cards, Bellator 196 takes place Friday. The main event features a lightweight showdown between Benson Henderson and Roger Huerta.

Henderson, who has had a rough ride since joining Bellator in 2016, is anxious to put a two-fight losing streak behind him. Huerta, who has not fought in North America in more than six years, stands to earn a lucrative contract if he can get past the former WEC/UFC champion.

In the co-main event, Adam Borics fights in his home country for the second time under the Bellator banner. He faces promotional newcomer Teodor Nikolov in a featherweight contest.

Bellator 196 takes place Friday at BOK Hall in Budapest, Hungary, and it airs on Paramount via same-day delay.

Here are five reasons to watch the event.

1. Challenge accepted

When Henderson signed a free-agent deal with Bellator in 2016, he was the No. 13 ranked fighter in the lightweight division according to the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA rankings.

The former UFC lightweight champion had an 11-3 record with the UFC when he left the promotion. Since he joined the Bellator fold, the currently unranked Henderson has a record of 1-3. His two most recent fights ended in split-decision defeats, something he recently addressed.

“For me, for a long time it’s been about finishing fights,” Henderson told MMAjunkie. “I had a good run where I won a lot of close decisions and close fights. That was a great, amazing feeling, it was wonderful. Now I’m on a little run where I can’t win a decision to save my life. It doesn’t matter what the reason is. If I know I’m not going to win a decision then hey, no problem. I’ll accept that challenge.

“If it’s not just me and my opponent, but it’s me against three judges who are all against me, then OK, no problem. I accept that challenge. I will get nothing but finishes and work my butt off. I need to take the blame. I accept full responsibility. Not getting a win is my fault. I need to get a finish then by all means.”

As he said, Henderson has a long history of close fights. In the past, things usually went his way in those decisions, so he had no real reason to change his approach. Riding the second two-fight losing streak of his nearly 12-year career, Henderson sounds motivated to make a change.