Bisping - Henderson

So far I have been pretty amazed by the disconnect between MMA fighters and media, and the casual fans. Really, it is something I have not noticed so profoundly since the first Anderson Silva - Rich Franklin fight.

To a man, every casual MMA fan I know, plus a number of hard-core fans are picking Mike Bisping without hesitation, much as they picked Rich Franklin over Anderson Silva.

My opinion is that the result for the fan favorite will be much the same.

A quick overview of Bisping is this:

Pros: He is confident four points striker who finsihes his opponants with flurries. Bisping shows some takedown defense and average to slightly above average submission knowledge.

Cons: While Bisping is an exciting striker, he has shown a complete inability to knock out anyone but low level fighters. His wrestling is quite good for coming from Britain, but middling at best for a UFC level fighter.

Lets look at who Bisping's career in the UFC. First he defeated Josh Haynes, an out of shape, over matched also ran with a 12-10 record who is no longer with the company. Next came Elvis Sinosic. Elvis's record is 8-11...need I say more? Moving on we come to Matt Hamill, a bull strong wrestler with strong untrained hands and little MMA experience. No matter what the official records show, every single non-Bisping on the planet that watched the fight knows Michael Bisping lost. Hamill's untrained striking rocked Bisping from the beginning, Matt tossed him around like a rag doll and took him down with ease. Bisping left with the "W" but with the knowledge he was not the better man. Next up for Bisping - Rashad Evans. The story of the fight was Rashad cracking Mike with big right hands and then taking him down. Bisping lost the decision and decided to drop to Middleweight.

Now what exactly caused him to drop? Two big powerful wrestlers with middling, but powerful striking.

So Mike drops, runs through a scrub in Charles McCarthy, a C level fighter in Jason Day and then fails to knock out a game, but hardly top level Chris Leben.

This brings us to today and Bisping's opponant Dan Henderson.

Dan Henderson:

Pros: Henderson is an olympic level wrestler. He is extremely large and powerful for Middleweight. While not a refined striker he has knockout power in his big right hand. He has an EXCELLENT chin and great submission defence.

Cons: Henderson's submission skills are sub-par.

While the highlights of Mike Bisping's record are a and a decision win over Chris Lebenpoor decision over Matt Hamill - Lets stop and take a look at Dan Henderson's record.

Note: Henderson has about 2 million fights, so we wont go one by one. Just the important ones.

Hendo holds wins over: Carlos Newton, Heavyweight Gilbert Yvel, Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Rodrigo Nogueira, Babalu Sobral, Renzo Gracie, Murilo Bustamante, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, Kizuo Misaki, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin, and Wanderlei Silva.

You will notice that I highlighted the wins over former UFC champions. Dan Henderson has defeated SIX former UFC and Pride champions.

Now lets look at Dan's losses:

Dan Henderson has never been knocked out.

Henderson has been submitted three times: Once by Anderson Silva, and twice by the Nogueria brothers. All large BJJ black belts, with the elder Nogueira fighting two weight classes up at Heavyweight.

Every other loss in Henderson/s career has been via decision...usually very close decisions. Henderson lost a unanimous decision to then Pride champion Wanderlei Silva who was in the middle of a 4 year winning streak. Dan was the man who would eventually take Silva's title via knockout in 2007.

His other decision losses were to UFC champ Rampage Jackson, Nogueira teammate Ricardo Arona, and japanese standout Kizuo Misaki who Henderson had previously defeated just 4 months before.

So if you look at Henderson's losses, he has only been finished by large Jiu Jitsu specialists.

Final analysis:

Mike Bisping: He is susceptible to big wrestlers with strong punches. He is a striker with little wrestling and little Jiu Jitsu.

Dan Henderson: He is one of the top wrestlers in MMA history and has huge punches. He is susceptible to big Jiu Jitsu black belts.

Michael Bisping is one of my favorite fighters. Michael Bisping would be an exciting and fun challenger to Anderson Silva. Michael Bisping does not stand a chance in this fight.

Though there is a small chance that Henderson knocks Bisping out, my money is on Dan Hendersom via Unanimous Decision.