Michael Bisping is a phenomenal fighter out of the UK that won Season 3 of the Ultimate Fighter as a light heavyweight. He then went on a great run at 205lb completely destroying Eric Shafer and Elvis Sinosic. He then won a controversial split decision over Matt Hamill that many thought Hamill had won. He lost to Rashad Evans in another close split decision after that. It was that loss that motivated Bisping to drop to 185lbs. Since then, he has looked great with TKO wins over Charles McCarthy and Jason Day. He also won a dominating decision over Chris Leben where he was able to out box the heavy handed and strong chinned brawler.
Bisping has very good standup skills and comes from a kickboxing background. He doesn’t have the devastating knockout power of some strikers, but he is very technical with good footwork and movement. He also looks very fast at middleweight and should be able to outstrike Henderson on the feet if he can avoid Dan’s big left hand. I don’t think he can KO Henderson, since better strikers have tried and failed, but he could out point Dan like he did Leben. It should also be a big confidence booster for Bisping to have Rampage Jackson, who has already defeated Henderson in a hard fought championship bout, to train with at the Wolfslair.
From a wrestling stand point, Henderson has a huge edge and shouldn’t have a problem taking Bisping down. Bisping’s main focus will most likely be getting back up to his feet like he was able to do in the Rashad Evans fight. However, if he is only able to get back up and isn’t offensive, it will end like the Evans fight. He does have the chance of getting a sweep on Dan and getting in top position to unleash his own ground and pound, but with Henderson’s history in Greco-Roman wrestling, that may prove very difficult.
This fight should go Henderson’s way. He will most likely dominate Bisping in the clinch, take him down, and grind out a three round decision. Hopefully he doesn’t try to stand with Bisping and try to land a big left hand. That could lead to him being out pointed on the feet. Ultimately, I think Henderson has the tools to take this fight. This is a huge step up in competition for Bisping that I don’t think he is ready for.
Final Prediction: Dan Henderson at -200 risking 1.5 units to win .75 units
