Henderson awarded TKO due to Freire injury, earns title shot

This wasn't how Benson Henderson wanted to pick up his first win.

The main event of Bellator 160 on Friday came to an abrupt end when Patricio Freire suffered a leg injury in the second round of his lightweight No. 1 contender's bout against Henderson. Referee John McCarthy was forced to call the bout after Freire turned his back to Henderson and pointed at his leg to signal that he could not continue.

According to the Bellator Twitter account, Freire suffered a broken shin that may have resulted from a checked leg kick.

It was the first Bellator win for Henderson since he joined the promotion in February after a seven-year run with the WEC and UFC. He lost a unanimous decision in his debut against welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov.

The bizarre finish came at the 2:26 mark of Round 2 following a bout that drew jeers from the Anaheim, Calif., crowd for a lack of activity. In the first round, Henderson took the center of the cage and stalked Freire, though he threw few strikes of consequence and appeared to be down on the scorecards.

Freire continued to find success in the second frame, countering with strikes of his own and even threatening a takedown on the much larger Henderson. Unfortunately, just as the action picked up, Freire was forced to bow out of the match.

Post-fight, it was announced that Henderson will fight 155-pound champion Michael Chandler on Nov. 19 in San Jose, Calif.