So, it has been confirmed. The eagerly-awaited UFC middleweight rematch between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson will take place on October 8th of this year in Bisping's hometown of Manchester, according to Bisping himself on his Sirius XM radio show 'The Countdown'.
Henderson knocked Bisping out in 2009 before delivering an absolutely brutal diving elbow that he admitted afterwards was mainly "just to shut (Bisping) up a little bit".
But Bisping doesn't think that Henderson's victory was just because of a well-executed fight strategy. He has maintained that Henderson's use of testosterone replacement therapy under a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)-which is no longer allowed under the new USADA-run UFC testing policy-was a key factor in his victory. And, on his radio show, he opined that Henderson might try and play dirty this time around.
I think he's going to go out there and have some sneaky PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) because he's going to think, ‘Well, screw it. If I get suspended, so what? I'm retiring anyway.'
In fact, Bisping challenged Henderson-who is retiring after the clash-to be completely open to testers from USADA in the run-up to the fight.
Dan Henderson, I challenge you to announce to me at the press conference that you will not take any performance-enhancing drugs. That if USADA show up on any day, any time, they can test you. Because I think he (Henderson) is going to cheat.
The comments from Bisping come after a turbulent summer for the sport in which UFC stars Chad Mendes, Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar (among others) all face lengthy spells out of the octagon because of positive drugs tests unveiled by USADA. Jeff Novitzky, the UFC 'vice president of athlete health and performance', has promised a further increase in testing in the sport.
You can hear Bisping confirm news of the fight below, and saying he is going to give Henderson "a beating that people will never forget" in revenge for what Henderson did to him seven years ago.
https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmrush/exclusive-michael-bisping-confirms-his-next-fight-is-against-dan-henderson?in=siriusxmrush/sets/the-countdown
