EXCLUSIVE | Bas Rutten predicts Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson

Tomorrow night in Manchester, England, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson will square off in a highly anticipated fight for the UFC middleweight championship in a fight that will also serve as Henderson’s last fight before retiring from MMA.

Ahead of the fight, the MMA community appears to be torn on their prediction for the scrap. While many believe that Bisping will once again get his hand raised in front of the English fans, others believe that history will repeat itself, and Henderson will once again emerge victorious over Bisping.

During the inaugural episode of BJPenn.com Radio, Bas Rutten gave his thoughts on the fight, saying:

“That’s one of those fights that…again, you’re going to think that if it’s going to happen in the first two, two and a half rounds, it’s going to be Henderson because he’s going to land that big punch. I think it’s going to be much harder now, Bisping’s footwork is really good, his angles, he’s got everything. But you’ve got to know there’s always a danger for the takedown, although Bisping has great takedown defense. But, Bisping is a volume fighter. Everything, comes out constantly, constantly attacking. So if it goes to a decision, if it goes the distance to a decision, I see Bisping going to win that fight. If it’s an early stoppage, it’s probably a win for Dan.”

With the fight certainly being a personal one for Bisping as he looks to avenge his UFC 100 loss, he has stated that he is feeling the pressure of the situation. With that being said, ‘The Count’ also pointed out that he does better under pressure.

Bas weighed in on the situation:

“I think it’s a plus [the pressure]. For him it is. Because the way he controlled it with Luke Rockhold, happens the same. He stayed cool, he attacked the body and then went to the head. What I was saying on Inside MMA, he was doing it! It was amazing because the length of Rockhold, he leans back on hooks because he’s so tall. But once you start hitting the body, he’s going to have to move different backwards. He cannot lean backwards, because he’s going to get hit in the gut. So then he’s going to use footwork to move backwards, but that means his face stays at the same spot, and then maybe you can nail him with a left hook to the head. And that’s what happened. I thought he (Bisping) played it cool. And if he can keep that cool and fight Dan Henderson, and he knows that stamina wise, Bisping – I mean he had a 34 heart rate. So this guy is in increidble shape.

“He never lost a fight in England, never lost a fight. Every time he fought in his hometown, he won that fight.