Michael Bisping faces an old foe in his first defense as the UFC middleweight champion, taking on Dan Henderson at UFC 204 on Saturday as a strong -225 betting favorite.
Bisping ascended to the UFC middleweight championship with a stunning first-round knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, shocking the MMA world as a massive +525 underdog and avenging a second-round loss to Rockhold at UFC Fight Night 55.
Vengeance will once again be on Bisping’s mind in Saturday night’s UFC 204 main event at Manchester Arena, as the champion looks to atone for a second-round KO loss to Henderson at UFC 100 as a +140 underdog.
That commenced a shaky 8-6 run for Bisping, but he currently rides a four-fight win streak that has lifted his pro MMA record to 29-7 including 20 wins inside the distance.
This time it is Henderson who is pegged as the underdog, sporting +175 odds in his bid to claim back-to-back wins in the octagon for the first time in almost five years.
A member of Team Quest, Henderson is coming off an impressive second-round KO win over Hector Lombard as a +300 underdog at UFC 199, and he has claimed six of his past seven victories by knockout including three first-round finishes.
But while Henderson is known for his devastating ability to end fights quickly, he has frequently been on the receiving end of a first-round finish, suffering KO defeats in three of his past four losses.
Most recently, Henderson fell to Vitor Belfort as a +240 underdog just 80 seconds into their clash at UFC Fight Night 77, and lasted just 70 seconds against Gegard Mousasi as a +325 bet at UFC on Fox 14.
Other UFC 204 Lines
In other UFC 204 action, Mousasi gets the nod as -325 chalk in his co-main event middleweight matchup with Belfort, who trails at +250.
A one-time Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Mousasi has won three of four since vanquishing Henderson including another first-round win in his last outing, knocking out Thiago Santos at UFC 200 as -290 chalk for his 20th career victory inside five minutes.
Belfort suffered a first-round loss to Ronaldo Souza at UFC 198 as a +195 underdog and has not seen the second round since a KO win over Bisping at -140 odds almost four years ago.
A loser in two of his past three fights, Jimi Manuwa battles Ovince Saint-Preux as a slim +125 underdog in their light heavyweight tilt, while Daniel Omielanczuk looks for a fourth straight win as a +150 wager in his battle with fellow heavyweight Stefan Struve.
