When Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson enter the Octagon for UFC 204 on Saturday, October 8th in Manchester, England, Bisping will look to not only defend his UFC Middleweight title for the first time, but he will also be looking to exact his revenge on Henderson after what happened at UFC 100.
The matchup may not make sense for the title as Henderson has already announced his intentions to retire after the bout, but the champ gets what the champ wants.
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Bisping is riding high after knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 to become champion and as Bisping has said and time and time again, this is his destiny and will show Henderson that UFC 199 was a fluke.
Call it a cheapshot, a late blow, it doesn’t matter. Henderson’s vicious knockout of Bisping will remain etched in every UFC fans memory. We know Bisping is a better and more confident fighter this time around, so the only real question surrounding this fight is what should we expect from the 46-year old Henderson who already has his eyes on retirement?
Moreso, can Henderson still land the ‘H-Bomb’?
Compared to the UFC 205 card in New York City, New York on November 12, UFC 204’s card is an afterthought. However, there is a lot to be said about the UFC giving Bisping, a champion who hasn’t defended his belt since winning it, the opportunity to hand-select an opponent who — with all due respect — should not be in title contention.
Henderson is a one of the all-time greats of the UFC and mixed martial arts but at his age and the vast amount of other title contenders in the middleweight division, he doesn’t belong anymore.
That’s no disrespect to Henderson, it’s just unfortunate that his time has run up.
Having said that, all the pressure is on Bisping and he’s in a position he’s never been in before in the UFC.
Against Rockhold, there weren’t many people who thought Bisping would win, let alone knockout the former champ in such devastating fashion. But Bisping was so relaxed before that fight and he even pointed out to Fox Sports’ Damon Martin how nobody expected him to win:
Listen, all the pressure is on Luke. It’s very freeing mentally. I’m just going to go out there and do my thing. I have no pressure. I know I’m expected to lose. The world is expecting me to lose this fight, and that’s so nice. That feels so good. I haven’t had 10 weeks of evaluating footage and going through the emotional roller coasters. Feeling confident and then feeling negative and then feeling confident again and then feeling negative again. I haven’t got time for that (expletive). I’m very, very confident.
This time, the shoe is on the other foot.
Prediction:
Bisping will be the more active fighter and swing haymaker after haymaker at Henderson, hoping to knock him out in front of his hometown.
But what does Henderson have to lose? After all, the H-Bomb that landed at UFC 199 was a brilliantly-timed counter-punch. Henderson’s cardio will be put to the test against Bisping so his best bet would be to go for some early takedowns to take away Bisping’s ring control and settle into the fight.
If Henderson can slow the fight down to his tempo, Bisping will be in for a world of hurt.
A -185 underdog, Henderson will leave the Octagon on Saturday for the final time. Only this time, it will be the first time he has tasted UFC gold.
The fight will go to the third-round where an over-enthusiastic Bisping will swing wildly at Henderson, only to get stunned by Henderson’s right hand. Bisping will drop to the canvas and attempt to cover up, but Henderson will put on the pressure to get the finish via TKO (punches).
Prediction: Henderson by third-round TKO (punches).
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