Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson are set to face off at Bellator 292 on March 10 for the Lightweight Title

Usman Nurmagomedov’s first lightweight title defense will be against Benson Henderson at Bellator 292.

Bellator president Scott Coker teased a Lightweight Grand Prix for several months, and the time has finally come. The first two fights have been scheduled for Bellator 292 in San Jose, California. Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his lightweight title in the Grand Prix quarter-finals against Benson Henderson.

Another Lightweight Grand Prix matchup has been added to Bellator’s March 10 event. Tofiq Musayev and Sidney Outlaw will go toe-to-toe, looking to punch their ticket to the semi-finals. The official announcement was made through an official Bellator press release that said:

"UNDEFEATED CHAMPION USMAN NURMAGOMEDOV DEFENDS HIS BELT AGAINST FORMER UFC TITLIST BENSON HENDERSON, WHILE TOP-TEN CONTENDERS TOFIQ MUSAYEV AND ALEXANDER SHABLIY COLLIDE.”

Bellator 292 will also feature Josh Hill vs. Cass Bell, Wladimir Gouvea vs. Sean Tucker, and Theo Haig vs. Adam Wamsley, with more fights to be announced. The event will go down inside the SAP Center on Friday, March 10. The preliminary card starts at 7 p.m. ET on YouTube, with the main card following at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.

#Bellator292 in San Jose is officially announced for March 10 (per @BellatorMMA press release).

Usman Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight title in the main event against Benson Henderson.

Tofiq Musayev vs Alexandr Shabliy is set for the co-main event.

#BellatorLWGrandPrix https://t.co/U5M33UBaRW

Scott Coker breaks down the Lightweight Grand Prix that starts at Bellator 292

The Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix is highly anticipated due to several wild factors. AJ McKee Jr. recently joined the weight class, Usman Nurmagomedov remains undefeated, and Tofiq Musayev can’t be overlooked. During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Scott Coker revealed the tournament's seedings by saying:

“We have an exciting tournament coming up. We talked about the lightweight division being the next tournament, and we are officially announcing it. The participants are the breaking news. The number one slot is going to be Usman Nurmagomedov. Number two, Patricky Pitbull. Number three, Tofiq Musayev. Four, Benson Henderson. Five, Alexander Shabliy. Six, Sidney Outlaw. Last but not least, we have seven, AJ McKee will be in the tournament, which I’m really excited about, and then number eight, Mansour Barnaou.”

All eyes will be on the reigning lightweight champion at the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix. The 24-year-old holds a pro-MMA record of 16-0 with five wins under the Bellator banner. Nurmagomedov became the 155-pound king by defeating Patricky Pitbull in November.

The Russian world champion could realistically dominate throughout the tournament. He will attempt to start with Benson Henderson at Bellator 292. Meanwhile, Henderson looks to pull off a massive upset after beating Peter Queally last time out.

Breaking: @ScottCoker announces Bellator will host an 8-man lightweight grand prix 🏆 #TheMMAHour

The field:
· Usman Nurmagomedov
· A.J. McKee
· Benson Henderson
· Patricky Pitbull
· Alexander Shabliy
· Mansour Barnaoui
· Tofiq Musayev
· Sidney Outlaw

▶️ youtu.be/8FFpJrQbHgk https://t.co/vcCNNQiwE6