UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and challenger Dan Henderson have verbally agreed to a title fight at UFC 204, reports MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.
The fight is set to take place in Bisping’s hometown of Manchester, England on Oct. 8, and will begin at 5:00 a.m. local time to accommodate North American viewers.
It will be the second time the two square off, seven years after their first meeting at UFC 100, where Henderson (32-7) knocked out Bisping (29-7) with a second-round punch.
Bisping won the title from Luke Rockhold in June at UFC 199 with a surprise first-round knockout after accepting the fight on a little more than two weeks’ notice.
Henderson, who’s never held a UFC title since arriving in 2007, recently announced he’ll be “ready to mentally retire” after the bout with Bisping.
The two have had a rivalry dating back to before their UFC 100 match, when they battled as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” season nine.
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