TUF 9: Bisping Vs Hendo: What To Expect

The Ultimate Fighter has been a very popular series that has produced many great fighters like Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and many others. Sixteen fighters separated in two different teams and then fight it out in the UFC octagon for a contract.

What has also been really interesting, is the coaches for each seasons. Season One had Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell as coaches before their huge showdown at UFC 52. Season Three had huge rivals Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock while Season Five had another pair of rivals, BJ Penn and Jens Pulver.

Season Nine of The Ultimate Fighter is getting closer and to keep the tradition going, after the show, both coaches will fight. This season's concept is interesting, fighters will be separated into two teams, Team USA against Team UK. The coach for the UK team will be TUF Season Three winner, Michael "The Count" Bisping.

At UFC 93, Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson fought in the light-heavyweight division and the winner would have to drop down to middleweight and coach Team USA against Bisping. As you now know, Dan Henderson won the fight and earned the shot at the coaching spot.

It has already been decided that Bisping and Henderson would fight at the end of the show with the winner becoming the number one contender for the Middleweight Championship.

Breaking down the fight

At first glance, a lot of people don't consider Michael Bisping to be a huge threat to the veteran Dan Henderson, which to me is really odd. Since leaving the TUF house, Bisping has been on a roll.

Some people underestimate Bisping and say he hasn't fought anybody worthy of mentioning. Michael Bisping has been dominant in each of his fights, he won a close controversial decision against Hamill and came very close to beating Rashad Evans, something not many people can say they came close to doing.

Dan Henderson has several KO victories to his resume, but Michael Bisping is a much better stand-up fighter. He has great kickboxing skills, something that had lead him to victories against Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben. Bisping has looked even more impressive since dropping down to the Middleweight division.

Michael Bisping also has underrated submissions but he lacks in wrestling, something "Hendo" has the advantage over. Henderson is a tough fighter who is good everywhere, but his main strength is his wrestling.

So to count "The Count" out of this fight is dumb, Bisping can overcome Dan Henderson on the feet if he doesn't get taken down and ground and pounded. Henderson has been in so many fights so his experience in the fight would be huge. Whoever wins won't get it easy that's for sure.

If Bisping wins...

If Michael Bisping is victorious against Dan Henderson, he will go on to challenge the Middleweight champion. Considering that the champion is still Anderson Silva, Bisping could very well end up on the losing end against Silva which would drop him down the rankings, but he could still be one of the top fighters in the Middleweight division.

Dan Henderson would drop down the rankings in the Middleweight division and maybe even go back to the Light-Heavyweight division. A loss to Bisping could be fatal at this point in his career.

He probably couln't get back up the rankings in the Middleweight division and his chances of capturing the Light-Heavyweight title is a long shot with the talent in that division.

If Henderson wins...

If Dan Henderson beats Michael Bisping, he will then get a shot at the Middleweight champion and considering that's Anderson Silva, "Hendo" could lose again. Still, the possibility of him beating Silva is there and if he does, Dan said that he wanted to hold the titles in both the Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight divisions.

If Michael Bisping loses, what will happen with the UK market? The UFC is using Bisping to amp up their UFC cards in Europe; if Bisping loses to Henderson, the UFC won't be able to promote their events the same way. A loss for Bisping could be a loss for the UFC too.

Whichever way you look at it, this fight is very important. Whoever loses may lose a lot to the point of changing everything. This fight will make an impact when it's all said and done, and don't count Michael Bisping out just yet.