5 Greatest UFC Middleweight Championship Fights
The UFC Middleweight Championship is actually one of the earliest created titles in the promotion. While it isn't as old as the Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight titles, it came right after the Lightweight Championship.
Since then, the lineage of the title has been nothing short of magnificent. We've seen one of, if not the greatest of all time in Anderson Silva defend the title a whopping 10 times, a record that wouldn't be broken till Demetrious Johnson did it in 2017.
The rise and fall of Silva was just one of many stories in the prestigious weight division. From a weight standpoint, the decision to go to Middleweight has benefited superstars who would compete in both UFC Welterweight and Light Heavyweight. Robert Whittaker is perhaps the best example of this.
The 185-pound division has seen some of the hardest hitters and most technically gifted fighters in UFC history. Without going much further, let's look at the five greatest title fights in the storied Middleweight division.
#5 Michael Bisping (c) vs Dan Henderson - UFC 204
UFC 199 was an important night for the Middleweight division. Michael Bisping had pulled off the upset of the year, knocking out Luke Rockhold in round one to become UFC Middleweight Champion.
That same night, Dan Henderson put away Hector Lombard with a spectacular knockout. If you're not aware, Bisping and Henderson had bad blood, dating back to before UFC 100. They would face off at UFC 100, where Henderson knocked Bisping out with the most devastating H-Bomb you'll ever see.
The occurrences at UFC 199 led Dana White to believe that Dan Henderson should get a title shot in the final fight of his career. Henderson was set for retirement, and it would either be redemption for Bisping in his hometown of Manchester, or a storied career ending for Dan Henderson.
Despite eating an H-Bomb or two, Bisping managed to prevail in an incredibly competitive contest to score a unanimous decision victory. Henderson wouldn't get his fairytale ending.