''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

held on October 8, 2016, at the

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Background

This was the fourth UFC event contested in Manchester and first PPV event held in the European/Middle East market since

UFC 112 ''UFC 112: Invincible'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Due to the time zone difference in Abu Dhabi, UFC 112 was shown live on pay-per-view in the U ...

. In order for the event to be broadcast live during

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

hours on the east coast of North America, the main card was expected to begin at 3:00 am (October 9) local time in Manchester GMT, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 11:00 pm (October 8) local time. Despite the very late starting time, ticket demand was exceptionally high, as all tickets for the venue sold out in a matter of minutes. The event was headlined by a

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

bout between current champion

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

and the former Pride Welterweight, Pride Middleweight and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

. The pairing met previously in July 2009 at

UFC 100 ''UFC 100'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event was the most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buyrate of 1.6million, until UFC 202 brok ...

with Henderson taking the victory via second round highlight reel knockout. A bantamweight bout between

Brad Pickett Brad Pickett (born 24 September 1978) is an English former mixed martial artist. He is a former Cage Rage British Featherweight Champion. He competed as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; Dana White stated that Pickett was ...

and

Iuri Alcântara Iuri Alcântara (born 4 August 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2003, Alcântara mostly fought in Brazil before signing with World Extreme Cagefighting ...

was previously linked to UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett. However, it was contested at this event. Ruslan Magomedov was expected to face

Stefan Struve Stefan Struve (; born February 18, 1988) is a Dutch former mixed martial artist who competed as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Standing at tall, he is the tallest fighter in the history of the UFC. Background Growing ...

at this event, but pulled out on September 9 due to a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

. Struve faced

Daniel Omielańczuk Daniel Omielańczuk (born August 31, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional MMA c ...

Arnold Allen was expected to face Mirsad Bektić at the event. However, Allen pulled out of the fight on 29 September for undisclosed reasons.

Jeremy Kennedy Jeremy Michael Fitz-Kennedy (born September 16, 1992) is a Canadians, Canadian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. In addition to competing for Bellator, Kennedy has also c ...

was briefly linked as the replacement. Subsequently, just hours after his participation was publicly confirmed, Kennedy indicated he was injured and unable to fight. Bektić faced

Russell Doane Russell Allan Doane is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Tachi Palace Fights, Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweigh ...

. Reza Madadi was expected to face promotional newcomer

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is an English professional mixed martial artist who is signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as a lightweight. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Caged Steel and BAMMA. ...

at the event. However, Madadi pulled out of the fight in the week leading up to the event citing an eye injury and was replaced by Łukasz Sajewski. Ian Entwistle was expected to face

Rob Font Robert Spencer Font (born June 25, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Font formerly competed for CES ...

at the event. However, on the day prior to the event, Entwistle fell ill during the weight cutting process and the bout was scrapped.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson *Performance of the Night: Jimi Manuwa and Iuri Alcântara

References

{{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2016 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom International sports competitions in Manchester 2016 in English sport October 2016 sports events in the United Kingdom

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References