Michael Bisping ready for revenge on home soil at UFC 204
The UFC hits England this weekend and features an intriguing rematch between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson, two of the competition's longest-serving fighters.
UFC 204's headline bout sees middleweight champion Michael Bisping defend his title for the first time since knocking out Luke Rockhold in June, when he faces challenger Dan Henderson.
The bout is a repeat of their 2009 clash at UFC 100 which Henderson famously won after delivering a stunning knockout blow to the British fighter.
Bisping is adamant he will emerge victorious over his 46-year-old opponent in front of what is expected to be a partisan crowd in Manchester.
“Dan Henderson is going to get beat into a living pulp,” Bisping told MMAjunkie video partner Champions.co.
“I’m going to toy with him for two rounds – I’m going to make him feel old and slow, I’m going to embarrass him, and then in the third round I'm going to knock him out cold.”
Bisping’s rise to the top of middleweight ranks has been a roller-coaster ride, but he enters the contest with an impressive UFC résumé.
The 37-year-old is one of just six fighters in the company's history to make 25 or more Octagon appearances.
He’s fought 26 times, tied with Gleison Tibau for third most bouts behind Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz with 27 apiece.
Bisping has been in the UFC main-event on 11 occasions, winning seven times, and his title success against Rockhold made him the fifth-ever European-born champion, and the first from England.
Elsewhere on the card, middleweights Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort look to move closer to a title shot when they face-off in the co-main event.
Mousasi has previously beaten Henderson, while Belfort has defeated both the American and Bisping in the past, meaning a victory on Saturday should catapult the winner into title contention.
Russian heavyweight fighter Ruslan Magomedov's late withdrawal from the event has allowed Daniel Omielanczuk to step in take on Stefan Struve.
Omielanczuk has looked much-improved recently, but Struve was impressive in last outing against Antonio Silva and he could prove too strong for the Polish fighter.
Promising Russian welterweight Albert Tumenov faces British fighter Leon Edwards, hoping to bounce back from a defeat by Gunnar Nelson in his last UFC fight.
Tumenov had been on a five-fight winning streak prior to meeting Nelson, but a victory over Edwards would propel the Russian back into the top 10 in his division.
UFC 204 full card
Middleweight: Michael Bisping v Dan Henderson
Middleweight: Vitor Belfort v Gegard Mousasi
Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux v Jimi Manuwa
Heavyweight: Stefan Struve v Daniel Omielanczuk
Featherweight: Mirsad Bektic v Russell Doane
Bantamweight: Iuri Alcântara v Brad Pickett
Bantamweight: Ian Entwistle v Rob Font
Bantamweight: Damian Stasiak v Davey Grant
Welterweight: Leon Edwards v Albert Tumenov
Welterweight: Danny Roberts v Mike Perry
Lightweight: Leonardo Santos v Adriano Martins
Lightweight: Lukasz Sajewski v Marc Diakiese
