Michael Bisping’s first middleweight title defense will be against his nemesis Dan Henderson at a date and location still to be confirmed later this year.
That’s the word according to UFC President Dana White, who announced the fight on the UFC 200 post-fight show on FOX Sports 1 and revealed that the current plan is to host the show in Bisping’s native Manchester in the UK, though that isn’t official just yet.
In some ways this is an unlikely match-up, with Bisping now sitting atop the 185lb weight class after a shock defeat of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, while the 45 year-old ‘Hendo’ had been suggesting that retirement was on the cards following his KO of Hector Lombard at the same event.
As soon as Bisping lifted the title fans started calling for a rematch to the UFC 100 between the Brit and Henderson, which infamously ended with ‘Hendo’ delivering one of the most brutal knockouts in the history of the sport.
With that in mind, the UFC have overlooked a number of top contenders like Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero in favor of Henderson, who’s currently ranked No.13 in the division and holds just two wins in his last five Octagon outings.
