Winner of UFC 100's Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson fight gets a title shot
by Dann Stupp on Jun 02, 2009 at 11:45 am ET
A UFC 100 main-card bout between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson, who are coaches on the currently airing ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," will earn the winner a middleweight title shot.
That's according to the Manchester Evening News, which cited a "UFC spokesperson" who confirmed the plans.
If Bisping, a U.K. fighter, emerges victorious, his title shot against current champ Anderson Silva will come in Manchester, England, according to the official.
Bisping vs. Henderson took third billing on the July 11's stacked UFC 100 card, which also features UFC heavyweight champion Brock Larson vs. interim champ Frank Mir and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre vs. top contender Thiago Alves.
Bisping was an early selection to coach Team U.K. on the show, which is the first season to use a country-vs.-country format. Henderson won the Team U.S. slot by beating Rich Franklin in January.
Bisping, the light-heavyweight winner on the second season of "TUF," is currently 17-1 overall and 7-1 in the UFC. His lone loss came via close split decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 78. The loss prompted Bisping to drop to middleweight, where he's now 3-0 with wins over Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben. A victory over Henderson would undoubtedly be the biggest of his career.
Henderson, meanwhile, is gunning for his third title shot since rejoining the UFC in 2007. He was unsuccessful in bids to take Quinton Jackson's light-heavyweight title in 2007, and in his very next fight, he failed to take Silva's belt in a 2008 middleweight title shot. Since then, though, he's defeated Rousimar Palhares (at middleweight) and Franklin (at light heavyweight) to move to 24-7 (4-2 in the UFC).
Current champ Silva is slated to take a non-title fight against light heavyweight Forrest Griffin in August at UFC 101. If Bisping is victorious at UFC 100, that would give Silva a full three months to prepare for the Manchester event.
Although not officially announced by the UFC, MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) is told by sources close to the organization that the Manchester show, UFC 105, is slated for Nov. 14. It's expected to air (via delay) on Spike TV.
