UFC 204: Michael Bisping Vs Dan Henderson Breakdown

Early Sunday morning, Michael Bisping aged 37 will defend his Middleweight championship for the first time in hi hometown of Manchester, England. His opponent is 46 year old Dan Henderson who has the chance to win the only belt he's not been able to get, the coveted UFC belt in his last fight before retirement. Yes all of that information is correct and this is going to be an incredible athletic battle which you will only see in the sport of mixed martial arts, in any other sport after 30 you're done, welcome to MMA.

As many of you will know this fight has happened before, at UFC 100 in 2009 Bisping was set to face Dan Henderson with the promise that if he beat Dan he would be given the title shot next. We all know what happened that night...

This is a photo just after Dan Henderson knocked out Michael Bisping stiff with 1 right overhand. The image of Dan Henderson flying through the air was an iconic one, one that he used as his logo ever since. Milliseconds after this photo Dan lands another full force right hand to the head of a clearly unconscious Bisping.

On Saturday night these to men will meet again and Bisping looks to get another loss back. In order for Bisping to win this his job sounds very simple but its actually extremely difficult, as shown in the photo above. Henderson is known for his tremendously strong right overhand punch, to the point where it has a name, the H-bomb. If Bisping can avoid this punch then winning is almost guaranteed, Bisping will outwork Henderson and could potentially knock Henderson out in the later rounds maybe 3,4 or 5. For Bisping he must establish his jab and more importantly movement, Henderson is extremely old for such a high level of competition and he is a lot slower than Bisping, Bisping has to tire Hendo out and watch for the power shots. For Henderson it's simple, try not to take too much damage through volume and land the H-bomb early and often.

The implications of this fight are huge. If Bisping wins then he gets back the most devastating loss in his career and solidifies himself as champion by defending it. He would also continue to go undefeated in the UK. For Henderson if he wins and keeps to his promise he would retire with the only belt he could never get his hands on until the last fight of his career and solidify him in the hall of fame. He would leave the division without a champion but in an almost beautiful and elegant way.

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