Patrick Habirora Wastes Little Time in Thunderous Victory

Patrick Habirora (9-0 MMA, 5-0 PFL) headed into this weekend's PFL Brussels looking at a critical fight inside the SmartCage. Saturday night's main event was a "home game" for Habirora, with a partisan crowd urging him on all the way.

The matchmakers for the PFL didn't make it easy for Patrick Habirora to get the win in front of his countrymen, however. On the opposite side of the cage stood Benson Henderson  (30-13 MMA, 0-1 PFL) in the latter's first bout under MMA rules since 2023.

Prior to PFL Brussels this weekend, the last time Benson Henderson set foot inside an MMA cage was the night of March 10, 2023 during Bellator 292. That late winter's evening, he battled Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator MMA Lightweight Championship, with the former taking the bout by way of first-round submission due to rear-naked choke in under three minutes' time.

Patrick Habirora Brings Fireworks in PFL Brussels Main Event Saturday Night

Although this main event was slated for an advertised three rounds at five minutes per round to close out the night's schedule of events in Belgium, Patrick Habirora needed only a few seconds to complete his assignment. Right from the command to fight, Habirora had one goal in mind: Seek and destroy.

Upon Henderson delivering a kick to his adversary, Habirora fired back, landing a nasty left hook  to sit Benson Henderson down. A quick flurry of ground and pound shots spelled the end of the night and gave the Brussels crowd the ending they were hoping to see, a first-round finish for Patrick Habirora.

"Explosive from The Belgian Bomber!," exclaimed Sean O'Connell, who was working PFL Brussels as the blow-by-blow commentator on Saturday night. Time of the knockout for Patrick Habirora: 21 seconds into the fight.

Patrick Habirora Issues Challenge to "Platinum" After PFL Brussels Main Event

Immediately after Patrick Habirora completed his eighth career knockout victory, the unbeaten welterweight climbed the cage fence and walked over to the audience to receive emphatic applause from his fans. Once PFL cage announcer Greg Hamilton officially declared Habirora the victor of the main event, he made a plea to another veteran of the world of MMA.

"I heard they talking about Mike Perry," Habirora said. "Hey, Mike Perry, if you're coming to PFL, let's go!"

Mike Perry boasts a 15-8 career record in MMA. After devoting the last five years to bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC, where he's undefeated with a record of 6-0 and four victories by way of knockout, "Platinum" made his MMA return a week ago Saturday in MVP MMA 1.

On the anticipated Netflix card, Perry secured a second-round TKO due to corner's stoppage after his opponent Nate Diaz could not progress in the contest after 10 minutes of action in the co-main event of the evening.

Patrick Habirora on Benson Henderson After PFL Brussels Main Event

Beyond the challenge issued to Mike Perry in the post-fight interview with Dan Hardy, the victorious Habirora had nothing but respect for his opponent in the headlining bout. Through his translator, he made it clear that what happens in the cage stays in the cage.

Moreover, Habirora used his airtime to spread kindness to the fans watching around the globe.

"This is a very important message that Patrick is conveying to the entirety of the world, taking advantage of the platform, being on live television to say this is a sport," Habirora's translator began. "Benson and I, maybe later on tonight, will be sharing a drink together. We are not adversaries in this world full of wars and conflict. We need to use this to say you must respect your other. You must respect everyone."