Benson Henderson was just as surprised as anyone to find out he’d be fighting Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 59 on just two weeks’ notice.

Henderson’s (21-4 MMA 9-2 UFC) original opponent, Eddie Alvarez, fell ill in the weeks leading up to the event and was forced to withdraw. That gave Cerrone (25-6 MMA, 13-3 UFC) an opportunity to step in and face “Smooth” in the FOX Sports 1-televised co-main event this Sunday at Boston’s TD Garden.

The former UFC lightweight champion revealed he didn’t learn about the opponent switch from his manager. He didn’t hear it from UFC President Dana White, nor did he get the word from company matchmaker Joe Silva. The man who broke the important piece of news? Cerrone himself.

“I did not know Alvarez was hurt at all; I was not aware until Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone himself texted me,” Henderson told MMAjunkie. “He hits me up and says, ‘Nothing personal, just business.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about, man?’ He said to go online and on social media. I got on there and saw the news.”

Although he’s never had a fight come together in such a unique way, Henderson took the situation in stride.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I see what you’re saying. I’ll see you in a couple weeks,’” he said. “I wasn’t given a heads-up, UFC didn’t call me, and they didn’t call my manager. They didn’t ask me, and I’ve still not talked to any UFC person about switching my opponent. I found out through social media, but I was down as soon as ‘Cowboy’ texted me.”

One reason why Henderson felt so comfortable accepting the short-notice matchup? His history with Cerrone. He defeated “Cowboy” twice under the now-defunct WEC banner, once by decision in a “Fight of the Year” candidate and then again by submission in the rematch.

The initial October 2009 meeting and April 2010 rematch are ancient history, in MMA terms. Since then, Henderson had stints as a WEC champion and then a UFC titleholder, and Cerrone flourished into one of the UFC’s most popular figures and a top contender.

Because of the roughly five-year gap between fights, Henderson said there’s little benefit in looking back at his first two wins.

“He’s definitely a different fighter,” Henderson said. “They were both such a long time ago. It’s not that I don’t take anything from those fights, but they are such a long time ago.

“He’s gotten better; I have gotten better. We’re not the same fighters we were back then, so there’s only so much you can take away from a fight that was so long ago.”

Henderson is No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, and Cerrone is No. 4. Other than the fact the matchup pits two of the world’s top 155-pound fighters against each other, it’s the rare trilogy match in which one side already owns a 2-0 advantage.

Recent performances make it difficult to establish who has the upper hand going into the third contest. Henderson is one of the grittiest fighters in the division and is hungry for redemption after he suffered his first-ever knockout loss, to Rafael dos Anjos in August.

Cerrone, on the other hand, is currently one of the hottest commodities in the sport. He’s on a six-fight UFC winning streak. However, he fought just 15 days prior to UFC Fight Night 59 and defeated Myles Jury by decision at UFC 182 on Jan. 3. Such a quick turnaround can provide unpredictable results.

Both men took a considerable risk by accepting the bout, but for very different reasons. They are at key moments in their careers with a potential title shot in one of the UFC’s deepest divisions within reach.

Henderson said he isn’t thinking in those stakes, though.

“I have no idea (what I have to gain),” Henderson said. “I just fight whoever the UFC puts in front of me. I’m a company man that way. I don’t say, ‘Oh, I need to fight this guy for this much money for this reason. It has to be the right matchup or this or that.’ I don’t really care about it that much.

“UFC puts somebody in front of me, and my job is to go beat them up. I don’t get to say, ‘This needs to happen or I want to fight this guy at this time on this card.’ I’ve never done that my entire career, and I don’t plan on doing that anytime soon. UFC’s job is to find somebody for me to beat up, and my job is to go and beat them up.”

Henderson’s immediate goal is to defeat Cerrone, but his long-term plan is to get a third fight of his own with UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, who has handed Henderson half of his four career losses. “Showtime” took the UFC and WEC belts from around Henderson’s waist, and he’d like the chance to right that wrong before putting a bow on his career.

However, UFC championship fights aren’t easy to come by, especially in the overcrowded lightweight division. Henderson’s former-champion status puts him closer than most, and he’s aware of how much a convincing win over Cerrone would help.

“It could be a submission or a knockout,” Henderson predicted. “If he gives me his arm, I’ll take his arm. If he gives me his leg, I’ll take his leg. If he gives me his neck again, I’ll take his neck home with me. If he lets me touch his chin, I’ll put him away.

“Me getting my hand raised at the end of the fight, that’s for sure going to happen.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.