Since Michael Bisping shocked the world by knocking out Luke Rockhold to become the UFC’s middleweight champion at UFC 199, speculation has been building about who his first title defense should be against – and one name that keeps cropping up is Dan Henderson.
‘Hendo’ infamously handed Bisping one of the most brutal KO losses ever seen in the Octagon at UFC 100, and it’s something that the Brit’s detractors have never let him forget.
As such, Bisping has indicated that he’s keen to avenge that loss, even although the now 45 year-old Henderson suggested following his own impressive KO finish against Hector Lombard at UFC 199, that he may now be ready to retire.
Henderson has never been a fan of Bisping though, since their rivalry first began on the set of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 prior to UFC 100, and so when the idea of a rematch with ‘The Count’ is mentioned, it’s clear that he would relish the chance to get his hands on him again.
“Absolutely [I’d be interested] I think that’s probably a fight I definitely would do,” Henderson said on Sirius XM Radio’s “Toe-2-Toe” radio show with Brian Stann. “That would by far be my last fight that I would do. That would kind of seal the deal..I don’t want to do too many more fights at all, if any, but I would definitely would do that fight and make it my last fight for sure.”
So, both fighters are on-board, and this would definitely be a fight that would grab fans attention, though truth be told, the match-up doesn’t make a whole lot of sense at this stage.
Bisping is now at the summit of the middleweight ladder after a four fight winning streak that’s included defeating not only the aforementioned Rockhold, but also one of the best of all-time, Anderson Silva as well earlier this year.
On the other hand, Henderson has won just twice in his last five fights, or three in his last nine if you want to zoom out further, leaving him ranked at No.13 in the division.
Taking that into consideration, along with the fact that Henderson is on the verge of retirement, it’d be hard to justify giving him a title shot, particularly with 185lb top contenders like Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Yoel Romero all queuing up for a shot at Bisping.
Perhaps that’s for the best. The win over Lombard was a perfect conclusion to Henderson’s career, and given that he’s been getting rocked quite frequently in his fights, even those that he’s gone on to win, it’d be wise to end on a high and avoid the risk of taking further punishment.
