UFC 204: The Risk of Revenge for Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping won the UFC Middleweight Championship with the biggest upset of 2016. Now defending his title at home against arch-rival Dan Henderson, is “The Count” risking an inauspicious ending to his title reign?
When Michael Bisping steps into the cage at UFC 204 against Dan Henderson, he will get a chance to avenge the single biggest loss of his career. While the bout is touted as “Revenge vs Retirement,” it has all the potential to unravel the banner year “The Count” has had.
Henderson is 3-6 in his last nine fights. While his right hand remains devastating, the durability that carried him through in past bouts has been far less reliable recently. The fight carries a lot of personal value for Bisping, but it does little else for the middleweight division.
The knockout loss to Henderson occurred seven years ago at UFC 100. While the clip lives on forever in UFC promotional materials, the reality is that Bisping grants a title shot to a now 46-year-old Henderson whom he should be able to dispatch of at this point in his career.
Contenders Yoel Romero, Jacare Souza, Chris Weidman, and Luke Rockhold are all scheduled to face each other in bouts before the year is out. It can be assumed that the most impressive victor will get the next shot at the title in 2017 (Bisping believes that is what will occur at least).
Ideally, Bisping retains the title and faces the contender that emerges. Should he lose, however, the top contenders lose the opportunity to face the linear champion as Henderson has stated he will retire after the bout regardless of the outcome.
It would leave the middleweight division in an odd predicament: Without a champion and likely left to pit the winners of Weidman/Romero and Jacare/Rockhold to face each other for the vacant championship.
All of this leaves Bisping with everything to lose in terms of his fighting career. A member of the UFC roster since 2006, his title shot at UFC 199 was one that many were starting to believe would never materialize. However, a loss to Henderson removes him from the immediate title picture and loses him the opportunity to have lucrative bouts against the top names in his division.
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Now an analyst for Fox Sports 1 and a radio show on SiriusXM, Bisping would appear to have his post-fighting life already prepared. But even though life is very different for “The Count” today than it was at UFC 100, it’s clear that the prospect of having the final word against “Hendo” is pushing the Bisping like never before.
Bisping’s volume striking is the best it has been in his entire career. His takedown defense has also improved drastically since the first fight, added into the fact that wrestling has not been part of Henderson’s style in recent years.
There is also the fact that he is confident after having been able to exact revenge on Luke Rockhold on two weeks notice, a significantly more dangerous opponent under far more extenuating circumstances.
In a year where several titles have changed hands, a victory for Michael Bisping at UFC 204 would give him the best year by any fighter in 2016.
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