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"Hollywood" Dan Henderson (-190) vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping (+250)

by Stan Leung
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UFC 100
July 11th 2009 7 PM
Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
UFC Betting Pick: Dan Henderson (-190)

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UFC Light Heavyweight Fight: "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (-190) vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping (+250)

Now in all seriousiness, is this really a fight? Michael “The Count” Bisping (17-1) should not even be mentioned in the same breath as "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (24-7). This fight has been built up through marketing and the TUF reality show and nothing else.

Henderson has fought against every top level fighter regardless of  their weight and size—he has fought anyone, anywhere and anytime. In Pride he battled with the elites such as Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie, Renato Sobral, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Akira Shoji, Shungo Oyama, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Vitor Belfort, Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan and Akihiro. In the UFC, he has fought Quinton Jackson at UFC 75: Champion vs Champion, Anderson Silva at UFC 82: Pride of a Champion, Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88: Breakthrough and Rich Franklin at UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson. Henderson has not had a weak performance since his second fight versus Eric Smith in 1997. Throughout his MMA career Henderson has never fought an easy fight--can the same be said of Michael Bisping?

The fighters Bisping has faced in the past have not been world beater. There was Chris Leben at UFC 89 - Bisping vs Leben which went to a three round decision, Jason Day at UFC 85 - Bedlam, and Charles McCarthy at UFC 83 - Serra vs. St. Pierre II. His only top level fight was a loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 78 – Validation. His MMA fights have been against no name fighters in the UK and with small organizations. Henderson on the other hand has fought in the biggest most prestigious MMA organizations in the world and won the title of Pride middleweight champion and Pride welterweight tournament champion at the same time. Henderson is the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes within a major organization.

On the ability level there is no comparison. Henderson will come into this fight as the dominate wrestler. Prior to his MMA career, he wrestled at both Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State University, participating in the 1993 NCAA championships. Henderson was also a member of the United States Greco-Roman wrestling team in both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.

When it comes to striking however, Bisping will have an edge as he is an accomplished kick boxer. However, when he does decide to kick, Henderson will be prepared and will counter with an overhand right. Bisping does not do well against fighters that pressure him and Henderson will surely play to this weakness.

Bottom Line: When compared to Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping is not an established fighter with decent skills. Bisping is the new guard when it comes to the MMA but he has not progressed as some of the TFU fighters have--Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and  Diego Sanchez to name a few. Bisping is a decent striker, a decent wrestler and his grappling is average at best.

In his first year of MMA, Henderson won the Brazil Open, a four-man heavyweight tournament. He won UFC 17, defeating Allan Goes and Carlos Newton. He beat five opponents to claim the 1999 RINGS King of Kings title and than won two more fights to qualify for the finals where he beat Gilbert Yvel, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renato "Babulu" Sobral to win the tournament. During Bisping’s early MMA years he only faced British fighters like Steve Mathews, John Weir, Mark Epstein, Andy Bridges, Dave Radford, Alex Cook, and Ross Pointon. Who are there fighters you may ask? Exactly.


Betting wise, the online odds have Henderson at -250 which is pretty steep. Even though Henderson is the dominate fighter he is a smart fighter. Six of Henderson’s last eight fights have been by decision. He has not earned the nickname “Decision Dan” without cause. Unlike the old MMA guard, fighters such as Henderson are not punch drunk from previous wars. Unlike Wanderlei Sivla and Nogueira he still has what it takes as he is a smart fighter. The best bet to make for this fight is a UFC prop bet to go the distance. I would than parley this bet into a nice payday.

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