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.
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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.
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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.
