UFC 100 Preview: Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping

Dan Henderson (24-7, 4-2 UFC) vs. Michael Bisping (17-1, 7-1 UFC)

The rival coaches of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter meet in the final battle of the Team U.K. vs. Team U.S. 

Dan Henderson doesn't need to prove anything. He won two titles in Pride with victories over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Gilbert Yvel, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, Kazu Misaki, Renato Sobral and Muril Rua. On top of all that he represented the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

Once Henderson returned to the UFC he immediately fought for both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles. While he lost both fights to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva respectively, Henderson still solidified his status as an elite fighter within the promotion. Henderson rebounded with a split decision victory over Rich Franklin at UFC 93 for the "right" to be a coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. 

Now Dan Henderson holds the key to a title shot for Michael Bisping. 

Depending what side of the pond you come from you will have a drastically different opinions of Michael Bisping. (This fan made movie sums up the general consensus from many Midwestern MMA fans, including myself ). While Americans may think that Bisping has been feed with a silver spoon he has still achieved a level of prominence that no other British MMA fighter has yet achieved. 

Still Bisping's resume is thin, especially since he dropped to middleweight where his most significant victory is over Chris Leben. Despite the perceived weakness of competition "The Count" is undoubtedly a significant commodity to the UFC and on Saturday he will get a chance to prove to his detractors wrong. 

Conventional Wisdom: If you are from North America then Bisping will be unable to stop the single or double leg takedowns that Henderson will utilize to win the fight. If you are from the United Kingdom, then Bisping will stuff Henderson's takedowns and then whittle hims opponent down with a barrage of jabs and strikes. 

WKR Analysis: If Dan Henderson uses his wrestling skills in the manner that Rashad Evans and Matt Hamill did against Bisping he should win this fight. However, the verbal sparring between the two may make Henderson want to stand and trade. Dan has shown a great desire to use his stand up skills in the past, the problem is that this is a skill set that Bisping excels at. While Bisping may not have a demonstrative advantage in the striking over Henderson, it would still be folly to not attack an opponent he is weak and you are much stronger. 

An ignored storyline in this fight, is what it will mean for each fighter's respective camps. Henderson is a Team Quest fighter, while Team Quest is considered a top camp fewer contenders are emerging from a once dominant school.Micahel  Across the Atlantic Bisping is representing the Wolfslair. While this school's credibility has increased in recent years two prominent Wolfslair fighters, Cheick Kongo and Quinton Jackson, looked particularly poor in their last fights. The winner of this bout may tell us where each camp is on the current ladder of top MMA camps. 

Fun Fact: Michael Bisping was actually born in Cyprus. 

UFC 100 coverage