Thatch Battles Henderson in Welterweight Bout at UFC Fight Night 60

Brandon Thatch Opened as a -125 Favorite Against Benson Henderson.

One of MMA's rising stars will take center stage on Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 60 in Broomfield, Colorado. Local prospect Brandon Thatch (11-1) will take on former lightweight champion Benson Henderson (21-5) in a featured welterweight matchup that became the main event when Matt Brown was pulled to face Johny Hendricks at UFC 185. The 10-bout card will be televised on FOX Sports 1 starting at 5 p.m. (PT).

Thatch is riding a 10-fight winning streak since suffering the only loss of his career, and he has never lost in his home state (6-0). In fact, all of his wins have been decided in the first round and ended with finishes either via knockout (seven) or submission (four), including six in the first minute.

Meanwhile, Henderson is moving up a weight class from 155 to 170 as a replacement for Stephen Thompson, who was supposed to meet Thatch but had to withdraw due to a rib injury. "Bendo" fought less than a month ago at UFC Fight Night 59 on Jan. 18, falling to Donald Cerrone in a close unanimous decision that could have gone either way. That was his second loss in a row, and a third straight defeat could hurt his chances of fighting for the lightweight title again anytime soon even though the bout against Thatch is outside the division.

While Thatch has far less experience at this level than Henderson with just two fights in the UFC, he opened as a small -125 favorite (bet $125 to win $100) at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook and was up to -145 there as of Friday night after moving as low as a Pick'em (click here for latest UFC odds). Henderson was listed as a +125 underdog (bet $100 to win $125) on Friday night and has not closed as an underdog since upsetting Frankie Edgar for the lightweight title belt at UFC 144. When Henderson lost the title belt to Anthony Pettis at UFC 164, their championship fight closed at a Pick'em.

The co-main event at UFC Fight Night 60 is a featherweight matchup between youngster Max Holloway (11-3) and veteran Cole Miller (21-8). Holloway is 23 years old and has already fought some tough opponents in Conor McGregor and Dennis Bermudez, which both resulted in losses. However, he has finished each of his past four opponents since losing to McGregor and opened as a solid -320 favorite with bettors bumping him up to -450 as of Friday night. Miller has won two straight since dropping three of four, and he was as high as +375 at the SuperBook on Friday.

UFC Fight Night 60 Picks: Thatch, Holloway, Zach Makovsky (-110)