UFC 204

UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016, at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Background

This was the fourth UFC event contested in Manchester and first PPV event held in the European/Middle East market since UFC 112.

In order for the event to be broadcast live during prime time 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 bout between current champion Michael Bisping and the former Pride Welterweight, Pride Middleweight and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson. The pairing met previously in July 2009 at UFC 100 with Henderson taking the victory via second round highlight reel knockout.

A bantamweight bout between Brad Pickett and Iuri Alcântara 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 at this event, but pulled out on September 9 due to a staph infection. Struve faced Daniel Omielańczuk

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 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.