The fight: Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
The date: July 11, 2009
The location: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas
The event: UFC 100
Why it was memorable: "The biggest thing I want to do in this fight is shut his face." These were the first words out of Dan Henderson's mouth as the UFC 100 broadcast kicked off. What prophetic words those turned out to be.
After spending several weeks as opposing coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 9," Henderson and Bisping stepped into the cage at the biggest event in UFC history, UFC 100 in Las Vegas. In front of a record 1.6 million homes on pay-per-view and a crowd with the second largest gate for an MMA show in Nevada, Henderson put on what is undoubtedly the most famous performance of his 35-fight MMA career.
Henderson showed absolutely no respect for Bisping's power and continually just walked right through his punches early, looking to unload that big right hand he had become so famous for. Following a rough opening 90 seconds, Bisping would settle down a bit. Late in the round, Bisping went for a takedown that missed by a mile and the crowd groaned and laughed. The round ended with a nice right hand from Henderson.
Between rounds, Bisping's corner told him to move away from the right hand, practically yelling at him. Bisping, though, would not heed that advice and it would lead to his downfall.
With 1:44 left in the second round, Bisping would do that one time too many. Henderson waded in with a leg kick and landed his famous big right hand, sending Bisping into the land of unconsciousness. He followed up with a diving right hand square on the jaw in what is probably the most famous unnecessary follow-up shot in the history of the sport.
The time of the stoppage was 3:20.
The knockout was the overwhelming winner of Bloody Elbow's 2009 Knockout of the Year award and also won the same award at the 2009 World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.