The UFC have at long last confirmed the official date for UFC 204, with Michael Bisping set to defend his UFC Middleweight title against Dan Henderson on October, 8 in Manchester. The event will take place at the Manchester Arena.
The history making event will mark the first time a British mixed marital artist defends their title on home soil.
A source close to the UFC had originally indicated that the card was set to start at 00:30am local time, however the promotion have clarified a start time of 11:00pm. The main card will start at 3:00am with the Bisping vs. Henderson main event likely for around 5:00am in Manchester.
This fight itself is a rematch seven-years in the making. Bisping and Henderson fought at UFC 100 – still the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history – where Henderson landed a lethal ‘H-bomb’ to knock out the Brit.
Since their last fight, Bisping has fought a further 17-times, which included wins over legendary Anderson Silva and his title winning knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 on June 4. Henderson himself has also remained incredibly active, fighting 14 more times, beating the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Maurício Rua and most recently, Hector Lombard.
The bitter rivals will go head-to-head on Friday, August 19 in Las Vegas following the UFC 202 weigh-ins for a press conference which is bound to to rock the core of the MGM Grand Resort & Casino.
The UFC also announced six further bouts for UFC 204, which also features a Middleweight co-headline, as Dutchman Gegard Mousasi (39-6) faces off against Rio de Janerio’s Vitor Belfort (25-12).
Also, Britain’s top ranked Light-Heavyweight fighter Jimi Manuwa (15-2) faces No.6 ranked Ovince Saint Preux (19-8) who is fresh of an interim-title fight with Jon Jones.
Adding to the already stacked billing, Heavyweights Stefan Struve (31-8) and Ruslan Magomedov (14-1) will collide in Manchester and Lightweights Adriano Martins (28-7) and Leonardo Santos (15-40) will fight in an all Brazilian encounter.
There will be more of a British feel on the card, despite an injury forcing him off the UFC Hamburg card, Bethnal Green’s Brad Pickett (26-11) will challenge Brazil’s Iuri Alcantara (37-7, 1NC) in a hotly contested Bantamweight clash.
Finally, after beating Marlon Vera at UFC London in his first match-up since 2013, Bishop Auckland’s Davey Grant (10-2) who trains out of SBG Manchester, will fight Polish featherweight Damian Stasiak (10-2).
Updated UFC 204 Card
UFC Middleweight title: Michael Bisping (C) vs. Dan Henderson
Middleweight bout: Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort
Light-Heavyweight bout: Jimi Manuwa vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve vs. Ruslan Magomedov
Lightweight bout: Adriano Martins vs. Leonardo Santos
Bantamweight bout: Brad Pickett vs. Iuri Alcantara
Featherweight bout: Davey Grant vs. Damian Stasiak
Tickets for this landmark event go on sale to the general public on September 9 via Eventim and Ticketmaster. UFC Fight Club members receive access to tickets on Wednesday 7 September and UFC newsletter recipients on Thursday 8. Each sale will start at 10:00 a.m. BST.
