UFC 100 In-Depth: Can Michael Bisping Out-wrestle Dan Henderson?

The question has been brought up ever since the confirmation of the bout between the two Ultimate Fighter coaches, and it remains one of the most critical questions involving the stylistic matchup between the two fighters. Can Michael Bisping actually out-wrestle a former Olympic wrestler?

In order to really delve deep into the heart of the idea of Bisping matching Dan Henderson's skills in the wrestling department, it's vital to breakdown the fight stylistically as to what each fighter offers. Historically, Dan Henderson is a fighter who doesn't truly fight to his own strengths. He's been cast by some fans as a "Gurgelian" type of fighter in that he mainly battles it out with top competition by unleashing powerful overhands rather than resorting to his wrestling base to punish opponents on the floor.

While I wouldn't necessarily make the comparison to Jorge Gurgel's mindset, his style doesn't play to his strong suit all of the time. Henderson isn't likely looking for a 'Fight of the Night' honor like Gurgel, but he probably feels that his right hand can ultimately end the fight in quick and devastating fashion. I wouldn't argue with that idea, but when a fighter is taking on some of the toughest competition in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, being completely one-dimensional isn't a sure-fire way to dominating the competition.

Looking at Henderson's past performances, it's obvious that he still possesses some phenomenal take down defense due to his background in wrestling. Rich Franklin had a tough time stacking up against Henderson's defensive wrestling, and he had an even tough time escaping the powerful shots from Henderson's loaded right hand. Up-and-comer Rousimar Palhares found it exceptionally tough to take down Henderson, but he did manage to put Henderson in trouble at one point during the match. The difference between the two fights is that Franklin had the tools standing to be effective while Palhares ultimately had to get the fight to the ground to win.

Furthermore, many fans push arguments regarding Henderson's lack of wrestling ability from his PRIDE days. Specifically, there were a few PRIDE battles in which opponents with inferior wrestling were able to get Henderson down repeatedly due to his over aggressive style in that era. While I think Henderson has become a bit more patient during his reign in the UFC, this argument does bring up some interesting questions in this matchup if Henderson tries to pummel Bisping with overhands early. It wouldn't be unfathomable that Henderson makes the same mistakes from his PRIDE days with the possibility that Bisping could potentially put Henderson in a bad position from that mistake.

The 'Rampage' Jackson fight is a very interesting addition to the argument because Jackson isn't a world beater in the wrestling department, yet he was able to hold his own against Henderson. With Jackson helping Bisping train for this match along with Bisping himself stating that he intends to beat Henderson in the wrestling game, it gives me a notion that we could begin seeing an even more evolved Michael Bisping.

Wolfslair wrestling coach Zach Light offered his view of how the matchup will go to Fighters Only magazine:

"He will take Dan Henderson down more than one time in the fight. He will, that’s how he is going to win the fight. That is how I see it. When they start trading I think Mike will win the scrambles. Dan is a great scrambler but in a scramble situation I think Mike is going to come out on top every time. [Bisping] is fighting a guy that I have competed against, in the sense that Rampage fought him before. What I have done is basically helped him complete his strategy for the fight. Wrestling-wise I am probably one of the best MMA-wrestling trainers in the world at the moment. There is no doubt in my mind that he will end this fight before the third round."

While Light is a very good wrestling coach, it isn't exactly convincing considering Bisping's past performances against Matt Hamill and Rashad Evans. Light also trains Cheick Kongo, who seemingly had no answer to Cain Velasquez's top notch wrestling credentials.

Ultimately, I see this fight going down much like the Franklin battle with a lot of additional take down attempts. If Bisping can create a scramble, he may be able to continually punish Henderson, but there is always the one-shot right hand knockout in Henderson's arsenal. We know that Bisping's footwork, speed, and technical boxing skills have improved significantly since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, but it's obvious that Henderson has also improved since his days in PRIDE. He has become much more patient in using his powerful overhand to punish opponents while remaining less committed in his stance. It truly makes it a much more formidable task to try to change levels on Henderson while he unloads.

Can Michael Bisping out-wrestle Dan Henderson? History would say there isn't much of a chance of that, but then again... is Bisping capable of evolving into a top notch athlete at the pace that guys like Kenny Florian and Rashad Evans seem to have done in a much shorter amount of time than most fighters in the UFC?

-- photo via combatlifestyle.com, click here for more from this album

UFC 100 coverage