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UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson Results and Highlights

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:15 p.m. ET

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UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

UFC 204 was one of the more exciting events in recent memory with just the first and last fights of the night going the distance, exceeding all expectations.

Despite several injuries and losing one bout on fight week, UFC 204 delivered great excitement in Manchester on Saturday night (Sunday morning for the locals). A card full of finishes was capped off by a much more competitive main event than people expected.

The rare feat of five consecutive submissions was met again, with the last time occurring in July at UFC Fight Night 90.

Blood-thirsty fans that wanted knockouts were appeased to as well. With two huge main card KOs.

UFC 204 Pay-Per-View Main Card

Another UFC pay-per-view, another incredible main event. Not many expected Dan Henderson to hang around, let alone win rounds against Michael Bisping over 25 minutes. Most anticipated Henderson’s powerful right hand to be his only chance at victory. The 46-year-old power-hitter knocked down Michael Bisping twice and retired on a high note despite not taking home the belt.

The first knockdown was stunning. Over 90 seconds were left in the first round when Henderson landed his signature H-Bomb. The follow-up elbows and punches that snuck through were brutal, but the British champion absorbed the damage and returned to his feet before the end of the round.

The effects of the knockdown did not linger. Michael Bisping came off the stool for the second round and dominated the first four minutes of the stanza using a consistent jab and wide array of kicks.

Then the H-Bomb dropped again.

This seems to be the round drawing the most controversy from fans. Does a knockdown with little follow-up outdo the four minutes of great striking and control from Bisping?

Rounds three and four were the best for Bisping. He minimized Henderson’s offense by keeping the man with already poor footwork skirting along the fence. Henderson was hit with great combinations and several head kicks.

The fifth round was very close. Henderson came out much more active than the previous two rounds and was seeking a finish. The legend even landed a takedown and took the back of the champion late.

The ending of the fight was very unique. Bisping landed a flush flying knee, and old man Dan Henderson attempted a rolling thunder kick. The last strike he will ever throw in his historic career.

Many fans were unhappy with Henderson receiving the title shot over names like Chris Weidman, Yoel Romero, Luke Rockhold, and Jacare Souza. However, we were gifted a great “Fight of the Night” and all four of those incredible fighters will face each other.

Thank you Michael Bisping.

Gegard Mousasi made relatively easy work of Vitor Belfort in the co-main event. All Belfort had was a bull-rush in the beginning of the fight that Mousasi squashed quickly.

Mousasi then boxed up Belfort with ease. His cautious striking skills capitalizing on every opportunity Belfort gave him.

In the second round, a brutal head kick started the finishing sequence.

Shortly after that clip, Mousasi took Belfort to the ground and finished him from there. This bout proved Belfort should no longer be hanging around the top-five of the middleweight division. Mousasi on the other hand, is making a case to be one of the next contenders with three consecutive dominant victories.

In a matchup of two top light heavyweight contenders, Jimi Manuwa and Ovince St. Preux went to battle on the feet.

Round one featured plenty of clinching. Ovince St. Preux was attempting to keep Manuwa at range with his straight punches. However, Manuwa slipped the strikes and went to the clinch with St. Preux quite a few times.

Manuwa looked brilliant in the clinch, landing a pair of knees on two of the exits. The Brit put on a great show for his local crowd, clearly winning the first round.

Manuwa came out like a man possessed in the second round. Instead of clinching he was winging power punches and kicks. St. Preux attempted to get the fight to the ground several times to no avail. “Poster Boy” continued to mix up his strikes against the baffled OSP.

The finish came near the halfway point of the fight, when Manuwa landed a brutal body hook, followed by a right hook knockdown, then a left hook that shut off the lights.

This was the first high-profile win of Manuwa’s career, and he certainly made his case for a top-five opponent next. Maybe he’ll see a better outcome next time than the times he fought Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson.

Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve stayed hot against late replacement Daniel Omielanczuk. The height difference was staggering. It took a few wild swarms for Omielanczuk to find Struve’s chin. The Dutch kickboxer was using his lengthy kicks, but not his jab.

Nevertheless, Omielanczuk was kept at bay for the most part. Struve landed a takedown and dominated the ground exchanges. Omielanczuk started round two interestingly by clinching Struve against the cage. Again, Struve threw him to the canvas and went to work.

Struve gained mount quickly and the much shorter Omielanczuk had issues escaping. Omielanczuk did find a way out the back door and turned for a takedown of his own, but Struve locked up a beautiful d’arce choke, forcing the tap.

Stefan Struve now has two straight victories for the first time since 2012. He is now training with the Blackzilians, and hopefully a disciplined jab will be in his future.

Russell Doane stepped up on short notice as Mirsad Bektic’s third scheduled opponent. Doane is a bantamweight that moved to featherweight for this bout.

Bektic was away from the Octagon for 17 months before last night, and looked as good as ever, if not better. His striking was powerful and efficient, there was very little wasted energy.

The beginning of the end was a brilliant double leg takedown.

After pulling Doane down several times, Bektic eventually took the back of Doane, and choked him out on the second effort.

Bektic would be on the list of featherweight prospects alongside Yair Rodriguez, Doo Ho Choi, and Brian Ortega, but he just does not fight often enough. Hopefully this is the start of a surge up the ladder for the promising Bosnian.

Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

UFC 204 FOX Sports 1 Prelims

Iuri Alcantara silenced the British crowd in the prelim headliner with a brilliant performance against veteran Brad Pickett.

Alcantara out-worked “One Punch” on the feet, pushing the pace early on. After a flying knee landed, Alcantara landed a beautiful spinning back elbow that stunned Pickett.

Alcantara followed him to the ground, and from there, the Brazilian did not leave any room for Pickett to survive.

The mounted triangle to armbar, then triangle transition was as slick as they come. Alcantara has always been known as a more tentative fighter, but silenced any of those claims with a two minute victory against Pickett.

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This was a striking vs. grappling fight, that might have been controversial if it went to the scorecards.

Stasiak was not striking much, and was committed to getting the takedown, eventually landing four of nine takedowns.

Stasiak withstood the strikes on the feet from Grant, but found himself on his back in round 3 after initiating the ground exchange.

The skilled grappler wrapped up a brutal armbar and heard “crush crush” before Grant tapped.

Grant later confirmed the injury, saying he heard the cracks while Stasiak was wrenching the armbar. Stasiak’s beautiful work so far in the UFC should have fans keeping an eye on him in the bantamweight division.

After seeing Gunnar Nelson’s success on the ground against Albert Tumenov, Leon Edwards employed the same strategy. The Brit kicked off the fight with a takedown and controlled Tumenov for essentially the entire round.

Tumenov did have some success on the feet to start the second round. Every round starts on the feet after all.

Edwards was unable to get the fight to the ground in the second round and Tumenov imposed his will on the feet. Edwards was never truly in trouble though.

Edwards spent the first half of the final round on the defensive while Tumenov kept the fight standing. Then Edwards got the takedown and within 30 seconds took the back of the Russian. From there, the fight ended quickly.

This is a huge win for Leon Edwards, who is now 4-2 in the UFC. Perhaps a top-15 opponent is on the way.

Marc Diakiese is a hyped-up prospect from Manchester, and lived up to that hype against Lukasz Sajewski in his promotional debut. After two first-punch knockouts, Diakese tried to strike gold a third time by bolting across the Octagon to throw strikes.

Sajewski was poised though and took down Diakiese, controlling him for nearly half of the first round. When Sajewski attacked with a guillotine at the halfway point, Diakiese defended brilliantly.

By the time round two came around, Diakiese was in control. Diakiese was winning the second round, but not putting Sajewski in danger until late in the third. Diakiese began to open up on a seemingly tired Sajewski. The Polish fighter could not handle the pressure and the stoppage came shortly after.

Although he was fighting a short notice opponent, Diakiese is certainly a prospect to watch at lightweight.

Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

This was probably the consensus fight of the night, but the magnitude of the main event earned Bisping and Henderson the extra $50,000. Mike Perry and Danny Roberts went to battle on the feet for nearly the full 15 minutes.

Danny Roberts was attempting to develop his left hand throughout the fight, but Perry’s power shots were consistently troubling Danny Roberts. Near the end of all three rounds, Perry would go on a flurry that rocked Roberts.

The final rocking of Roberts with just 20 seconds remaining was all Roberts could handle.

Roberts was out on the way down, but referee Marc Goddard allowed four extra punches to sneak through. Goddard later posted an apology on social media for the late stoppage.

Mike Perry was tough as nails in this fight, and he debuted a new Platinum tattoo above his eyebrow. Perry definitely earned the “top 20 or top 30” opponent he called out.

Not much to say about this fight. It was an excellent matchup on paper but produced a dud in the Octagon. Both men were hesitant to pull the trigger and there were just over 50 strikes landed combined over the 15 minutes.

The crowd grew restless and booed the Brazilians. Unfortunate disappointment, but Santos stays undefeated and remains a very promising lightweight prospect.

UFC 204 exceeded all expectations after looking like one of the weaker pay-per-view cards of 2016. For those keeping track at home, English fighters were 4-3 on the night, with the most important win being the championship victory of Michael Bisping in the main event.

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