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.

Will Ovince break bones? Or will Jon be crowned “And New.”

Freaked out, afraid. The three words Jon Jones used to describe the hit and run ordeal in which he was involved in last year. Interestingly enough, next Wednesday (April 27th) marks a year in which the "worst 16 seconds of my life" occurred for Jones. Nevertheless, the whole situation has felt like a "blessing" for Bones in which he described in detail to Ariel Helwani as they took a long walk through Albuquerque and discussed the accident last November.

However, the bad times are in the past for the pound-for-pound number one, and this Saturday at the MGM, he will be looking to flip the tables as he faces the explosive athlete in Ovince Saint Preux. Of course this was never the original plan heading to UFC 197's main event. As Daniel Cormier withdrew coincidentally on April 1st, to many fans disappointment that this wasn't an April Fools', citing a foot injury. With many 205-pounders already booked to fight in the near future, it was #6 ranked OSP who got the call to face Bones for the interim belt at 205.

P4P #1 Jones has kept in great shape
for this fight camp.

Jones, who has never looked in better shape for a fight, last fought all the way back at UFC 182 in which he handed his biggest adversary Cormier his first MMA loss of his career. With razor sharp Muay Thai, and gritty Greco-Roman wrestling, Bones will be looking to come out this fight clean as he has already mentioned he's "willing" to fight at UFC 200. Although, it is certainly no-easy task to say the least as he will have to get through a powerful stand up fighter with heavy hands in Saint-Preux. Funnily enough, the last time fight plans for UFC 200 were being made in the lead up to a fight did not end the way many expected. That was last month at UFC 196 in which Nate Diaz handed Conor McGregor his first loss in the UFC and proves once again the unpredictability of this great promotion.

You wouldn't think the top two pound-for-pound fighters were fighting this weekend would you? With all the controversy surrounding the recent statements made by the notorious one, it has overshadowed the thrilling card in which UFC 197 sets out to be on paper. That's because the co-main event of the evening features yet another title fight, this time in the flyweight division. Arguably the most dominant champion of UFC history, Demetrious Johnson, takes on Olympic gold medallist, Henry Cejudo, in what promises to be a compelling bout matchup between veteran and newcomer. Mighty Mouse has single-handedly cruised through every challenger that he has faced in the UFC, so enigmas have to be raised whether Cejudo will become the odd one out, or just another fallen victim to DJ's immense technique.

Both Segio & Anthony Pettis have trained
with Jones for this fight camp, all three
fight this Saturday at UFC 197.

Tomorrow's nights intriguing match-ups do not stop there. Prior to the co-main event, taekwondo specialists Anthony Pettis and Edson Barboza will face off in a bout the could go down one of two ways; an amazing fight, or an horrendous fight. Linking back to Pettis' latest defeat against Eddie Alvarez in which many fans were not impressed in the manor Alvarez won the fight as expectations were dampened on by reality. Two middleweights both on four-fight winning streaks will collide as Robert Whittaker looks to put on another impressive performance against BJJ black belt Rafael Natal. Finally, the on to watch is the lightweight bout that kicks starts the main card. Two unorthodox, diverse stand up artists in Yair Rodriquez and Andre Fili clash and look to both provide an impressive performance to set up a strong start to this highly anticipated card.