UFC 204: Michael Bisping recovers from Dan Henderson’s ‘H-Bomb’ to retain his UFC title after five-round thriller

MICHAEL Bisping produced the best comeback performance of his long career as he came back from the brink to defeat old rival Dan Henderson and retain his UFC middleweight title at UFC 204.

The Manchester man, who arrived in the Manchester Arena to one of the most spine-tingling ovations we’ve seen recent UFC history, found himself in big trouble early on as Henderson threatened to repeat his stunning knockout win from UFC 100.

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With Bisping finding his rhythm in the first round, Henderson exploded his famed right-hook haymaker – the ‘H-Bomb’ – as the Brit went crashing to the canvas.

And with Henderson swarming ‘The Count’ and landing heavy ground strikes, Bisping’s prospects looked bleak as he tried desperately to survive the round.

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But survive he did, and he came storming back in the second, dominating the exchanges throughout the frame until, once again, Henderson landed ANOTHER huge right hook that dropped the champion.

This time, however, Bisping managed to wriggle free and came firing back with shots of his own as the round finished.

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From Round 3 onwards, Bisping took charge, using his superior footwork and gas tank to wear down the 46-year-old former PRIDE and Strikeforce world champion, peppering him with punches, mixed with kicks to the head and body, along the way.

And after asserting himself in the championship rounds, Bisping raised his hands aloft as the buzzer sounded to mark the conclusion of yet another Michael Bisping five-round thriller.

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When the scorecards were announced, all three judges had scored the fight for the Brit, with scores of 48-47, 48-47 ad 49-46 giving Bisping the victory he so desperately wanted, as he retained his title, maintained his undefeated record on UK soil and became the fighter with the most wins (20) in UFC history, eclipsing the great Canadian Georges St-Pierre in the process.

After the fight Henderson confirmed the fight was his last in mixed martial arts, as he officially retired from the sport as he was hailed by a standing ovation from the Manchester crowd.

But the night was all about Britain’s best fighter – a man who bounced back from the single most brutal knockout in UFC history to become a world champion, then bring the belt home and get revenge over the man who KO’d him all those years ago.

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After the bout Bisping paid tribute to his defeated opponent, saying: “Big respect to Dan Henderson. He’s a legend of the sport and I want to say well done to him. It’s amazing what he’s achieved in this sport and to be able to fight at this level, and bring it like that, at his age – I just have massive respect for him.

“He hits hard and he opened up a couple of big cuts on my face. But I feel completely fine, I remember everything about the fight.

“The crowd were amazing. I could hear the energy from the fans throughout the entire event. I want to thank them all for showing so much energy, it was incredible. I felt that.

“Now I look forward to the next one. I’ve still got the belt, I’m still the champion and I’m very happy. It was close but it’s never easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it. Until the next time. God bless England.”