UFC 204: Can Bisping put a downer on Hendo’s final straw?

 
Following the unusual circumstances of UFC 203, you would think there is no way that the next pay-per-view could be as strange. Or could it. Henderson vs Bisping 2 for the middleweight championship. A guy who isn’t even ranked in the top 10 leapfrogging multiple contenders for the shot. A combined age of 83 years old. I think UFC 204 is living up to the bizzarity of 203, but for all the right reasons.

The last of a dying breed. With an opportunity to go out on top. Dan Henderson has found himself in a position that virtually no other fighter can say they have been in before. Born in the Pride days, raised in the UFC, Hendo is one of the few long serving greats in MMA that is still fighting to this day, and a title shot this late is his career is by no means a fluke. A head kick followed by a ruthless right elbow saw him put away Hector Lombard on the very night Michael Bisping became middleweight champ, just days later, the re-match was on.

Bisping has become the posterboy for British MMA.
Credit: Fighters Only Magazine

An ’energetic and lippy’ kid, Bisping’s persona has by no means changed as he grows older. From paving to plumbing, Bisping has fought his way up to become the flagbearer for UK MMA.  Starting relentlessly on the local scene, Bisping quickly accumulated a flawless 13-0 record in just over two years, all wins of which coming by stoppage. He was a force to be reckoned with, and all of this took place in light heavyweight.

Confident and ferocious, the only paving Bisping does today is laying a path for his fellow nation to follow.  Dispatching Luke Rockhold on two weeks’ notice to finally claim his first ever piece of UFC gold, Bisping was awarded a re-match with the very man who gave him his most brutal loss of his career.

To take a look at how these veterans match-up against each other, there is no better place to look then their first fight. We all know how it ended, due to Hendo’s much famous signature being his whole bodyweight smashing down into Bisping’s face, but let’s take a look on how we got to that ever so historic knockout.

When you think of Bisping’s fighting style to date, you think of constant movement, a high volume of strikes and relentless pressure. Surprisingly, it was Hendo who was conforming to Bisping’s traits in their first outing. Headhunting throughout the fight, Hendo narrowly missed the huge overhand right on several occasions, but little did Bisping know his defence of leaning back to avoid the punch would eventually be his downfall.

An inside low kick to get into range, and then much like Lombard, Bisping found out the harsh way that whether it’s an elbow or a punch, Hendo’s right has devastating consequences.

The punch which quickly became Hendo's logo.
Credit: MMAMania

According to “The Count”, this title fight should not be labelled as a ‘re-match’, because they are both “completely different fighters” compared to when they met seven years back at UFC 100. Convinced he is going to make Hendo feel “old and slow”, the champ feels he will ‘toy’ with Henderson for two rounds, then ‘knock him out cold’ in the third.

For the casual spectator, this “rematch” is not the only fight to look forward to this Saturday at UFC 204.

Prior to Bisping’s first title defense and Hendo’s last octagon battle, Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi the two seasoned middleweight contenders with great contrasting styles will look to entertain the Manchester crowd. As well as England’s own Jimi Manuwa taking on fellow power puncher Ovince Saint-Preux in a light heavyweight bout.