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Michael Bisping is the current UFC middleweight champion. Adam Davy
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Bisping to defend title at UFC 204 in Manchester

Michael “The Count” Bisping will face Dan Henderson in a rematch of their 2009 bout.

BRITAIN’S FIRST UFC champion, Michael “The Count” Bisping, will defend his middleweight title in a rematch against Dan Henderson in his hometown of Manchester.

The fight, which takes place at UFC 204 on 8 October, will be the first British title defence on home soil.

The event is due to start at 11pm local time, with the main card getting underway at 3am, in order to cater for pay-per-view audiences around the world.

Bisping became the first British athlete to win a UFC title at UFC 199, when he caused upset to beat then champion Luke Rockhold at short notice.

Bisping and Henderson met previously at UFC 100 in 2009, when Henderson knocked Bisping out in the second round.

The 37-year-old Bisping will be going into the title defence on good form, having taken down one of the best pound-for-pound athletes in the world, Anderson Silva, in London earlier this year.

Henderson, a former Olympic wrestler, was awarded “Performance of the Night” at UFC 199, after he defeated Hector Lombard by KO. Before that performance, however, Henderson had lost six of his eight previous fights.

One of those defeats came at the hands of Vitor Belfort, who will also fight at UFC 204 in Manchester. The other six bouts that have been confirmed for 8 October are:

  • Gegard Mousasi v Vitor Belfort
  • Jimi Manuwa v Ovince Saint Preux
  • Stefan Struve v Ruslan Magomedov
  • Brad Pickett v Iuri Alcantara
  • Davey Grant v Damian Stasiak
  • Adriano Martins v Leonardo Santos

Bisping and Henderson will come face-to-face this Friday, 19 August, at a press conference preceding the UFC 202 weigh-in.

UFC 202 will take place in Las Vegas this weekend and will attract a huge Irish interest, with the rematch of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

McGregor lost to Diaz by submission earlier this year, after McGregor climbed a weight class to fight at welterweight.

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