HENDERSON KO’S BISPING IN BATTLE OF UFC REALITY SHOW COACHES

On a stacked card for Saturday UFC 100 event, one of the preliminary matches gained a lot of hype—the fight between Brit Michael Bisping and American Dan Henderson.  The two men had been opposing coaches on this season’s edition of the UFC’s reality television show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, which on this occasion matched fighters from the UK against their US based counterparts.  While the UK team got the best of the competition on the show, in the ‘coaches battle’ Henderson managed to gain some measure of revenge for the Americans as he brutally knocked out Bisping midway through the second round.

The highly accomplished veteran Henderson—who, among his other accomplishments was the only man to simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes in the legendary Japanese MMA promotion PRIDE FC—entered the fight a sizable wagering favorite, and backers who were willing to lay -225 on the American were rewarded with the win.  There was a good deal of interest in Bisping at +185, however, with some holding the opinion that his age (25) would prove the decisive factor against the 38 year old Henderson.  There were additional questions about Henderson’s cardio conditioning, as he’d looked very tired near the end of his most recent fights.

From the opening horn, however, it was all Henderson.  Bisping looked at times like he didn’t have a clue what to do tactically against the dangerously well rounded Henderson—he didn’t want to exchange punches with an opponent with KO power in both hands, nor did he want to go to the ground with an Olympic Greco Roman wrestler.  He avoided trouble for awhile by circling away from Henderson, but as he continually circled to the left he routinely put himself in the flight path of ‘Hendo’s’ money punch.  Just past the midway point of the second round, Henderson nailed Bisping with an overhand right that put him out before he hit the ground.  Henderson dropped another hard punch from the top before referee Mario Yamasaki jumped in to spare the Brit further punishment.

That final hard punch has become the subject of controversy.  While every fighter is taught to ‘keep fighting’ until the referee intervenes, some of Henderson’s post fight comments have brought him a good deal of criticism due to his apparent admission that he knew Bisping was out before he hit the ground and just wanted to administer a little more punishment:

"Normally, I'm not that way in fights. I know if the guy is out, I tend to stop. I knew I hit him out. I think that one was just to shut him up a bit"

Bisping was slow to get up, and spent the night in the hospital as a precautionary measure.  Other reports suggest that he suffered a broken jaw in the fight, though it was likely Henderson’s initial punch that caused that damage.  Technically the final blow wasn’t a late hit, since the referee hadn’t yet intervened, so Henderson is unlikely to suffer any sanction due to the incident.  Still, his comments have brought a firestorm of criticism though they are ironically dwarfed by the media frenzy over Brock Lesnar’s less than gracious post victory performance.