MANCHESTER, England -- Its been one long love letter between Michael Bisping and this city all weekThe support you guys show me melts my heart every time, he said in his postfight interview in the Octagon at the Manchester Arena. He had just secured a dramatic unanimous decision win over Dan Henderson to ensure a successful first middleweight title defense in the UFC 204 main event.Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, Manchester. Come on!The 37-year-old who grew up down the road in the Lancashire town of Clitheroe had a face resembling that of the Elephant Man, courtesy of a few H-Bombs thrown by Henderson. The retiring American knocked Bisping down once in each of the first two rounds but was unable to finish him.Somehow, the Briton found a way both times to get to the buzzer and survive. The 21,000-strong partisan crowd roaring him on can surely take some credit for that.Each time Bisping fell to the mat, the British fans leaped to their feet and urged their man to get to his. They went through their entire songbook, with favorites such as? Stand up if you love Bisping and Walking in a Bisping wonderland.The middleweight champion was in serious danger of suffering the same fate that befell him in his first fight against Henderson, at UFC 100 in 2009. That brutal knockout is often on display in the all-time UFC highlight reel and Bisping avoided watching it for seven years until the rematch for this fight was booked and his preparations for UFC 204 had started.This guy knocked me out cold. Cold. Worst knockout in UFC history, Bisping said, as he paid respect to Henderson, who confirmed this would indeed be his last fight. The jitters I had this week -- look at my face, for crying out loud. You know what this guy can do to you.What Henderson can do to you is put you in the hospital -- and he did precisely that to Bisping, who skipped his post-fight press conference to get his facial wounds checked out by a doctor.Henderson, on the other hand, was applauded in and out of his news conference by every member of the media present.?Thank you, I appreciate that, he said. In doing so, he bowed out with the same humility that has made him such a well-respected and loved figure in mixed martial arts.One last impassioned plea -- had he changed his mind at all about retiring?No, no, Henderson said with a smile. Unfortunately that was the last one, and itll have to be an L on my record. But I left it all in there. I felt I did everything I needed to do to win the fight. Unfortunately everybody didnt see it that way.That was also the topic of his conversation with White inside the Octagon after the fight.I think we were talking about the score, and he was surprised that it wasnt a 10-8 round [in the first round], which wouldve made it a draw at the very least, depending on that fifth round. That was about it. He just expressed to me that it was an awesome fight.That first round couldve indeed been a 10-8 -- in the end, all three judges scored the fight in Bispings favor: 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 -- with Bispings face rendered a bloody mess.The H-Bomb in the opening round left Bisping with massive swelling below his good left eye, not the right eye in which he suffered a detached retina from a knockout head kick in a defeat to Vitor Belfort in 2013, an injury which kept him out for over a year.Henderson looked gassed as he strolled to his chair after his unsuccessful efforts to finish Bisping in the first two rounds. Bisping was then able to take control with his continual movement and superior cardio in the third.For the first time in five years, Henderson went into a fourth round, and perhaps luckily for him, was able to catch his breath when referee Yves Lavigne allowed him some time to recover, having been caught by an accidental low blow.He then appeared to have been galvanized by a pep talk from his corner as he prepared for one final battle.This is your entire life, his trainer screamed at him, fighting to be heard above the din of 21,000 screaming British fans, who showed no signs of tiredness despite the clock ticking past 5:30 a.m. local time, when all was said and done.You want that belt? Lets go get it. This is your last-ever one.?Henderson came out swinging in the fifth, looking to land one final H-Bomb to give a fairy-tale ending to a storied career, to ride off into the sunset with UFC gold at the age of 46.The first round, it was almost finished real close, said Henderson in his news conference. I thought that was obviously a 10-8 round. But you never know. I thought I won the first two rounds, he won the third and fourth. And I wanted to make sure I went out and won the fifth. And I felt like I did that, went out and took him down. Landed some decent shots on him. I didnt feel hurt once in the whole fight from anything, with the exception of one leg kick that hurt my thigh a little bit. Obviously by looking at him, he felt some of the shots that I hit him with.?Before this fight I felt like I accomplished enough in this sport, and I was satisfied with that. But obviously there was one more thing I really wanted to do, and really worked my ass off during training camp and thought I was ready to get it done. Yeah, Im a little frustrated feeling like I did get it done, and didnt get any credit for it, I guess. It is what it is now, theres no changing that. I just gotta live with it.Henderson had initially been given the pantomime villain treatment -- his name was roundly booed in the introductions but was chanted by almost everyone inside the Manchester Arena after the fight.?Give it up for Dan Henderson, Bisping urged the crowd, who responded with a unanimous chorus of Hendo! Hendo!?He just kicked my ass, man. Dan, good job. Hes tough as old boots. Youve gotta respect a legend.Henderson finishes with a 32-15 record and a legacy as one of the great MMA fighters.When it comes time to close the book on his own career, Bisping may also be afforded the status of legend, for this was a record-breaking 20th UFC victory for him.More satisfying for Bisping, though, was doing his hometown proud. As he promised in the buildup to the fight, there was no way he was going to lose in Manchester, not in front of his entire family, and the emotion he showed when he was announced the winner proved this was the sweetest moment of his career. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 True Form Italia . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Rosse . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. 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Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. NEW YORK -- Aleksander Barkov emptied out his bag of tricks trying to beat Henrik Lundqvist in a shootout.Barkov tapped the puck off his skate, made a big deke to his forehand and then tried to reach way back with one arm for a backhand shot.He got the winner, but only by a matter of luck -- and about an inch.Barkov and Vincent Trochek scored in the shootout, lifting the Florida Panthers over the New York Rangers 3-2 on Sunday night.Barkov took his unconventional approach at Lundqvist knowing a goal would win the game. Lundqvist got his stick on the puck while Barkov tried going to the backhand, but it skipped over the paddle and trickled toward the goal line.Lundqvist dove desperately as the puck approached the line, but his glove didnt swat it away until after it had fully entered the cage.The Panthers trailed twice but came back behind goals from Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad. The win gives Florida a 3-1 record on this four-game trip, and the Panthers also got their first victory at Madison Square Garden since April 18, 2013.Were a pretty happy team with the wins we are stringing together, Ekblad said. We look to play tight games and limit chances.James Reimer played a big role in the win, making 33 saves and stopping two more shots during the shootout. Reimer is 3-3-1 on the season.He had a great bounce-back game for him, Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. Im real happy for him. The team worked hard ... but he had a huge effort tonight. That gave us the two points.It gets worse for New York. Mika Zibanejad left during overtime after falling hard into the end boards, and the team said he has a broken leg that will keep him out six to eight weeks.Lundqvist made 28 saves in his 700th start for the Rangers. He is only the fifth goalie in NHL history to play 700 games with one franchise.New Yorks Chris Kreider opened the scoring with 6:45 left in the first period on his fourth goal of the season. Derek Stepan skated through the neutral zone untouched and into the Panthers zone. He dished the puck off to Kreider, and he buried a shot from atop the faceoff circle for his 10th point in 13 gammes.ddddddddddddYandle tied it in the second period with a shot from the point while the Panthers were on the power play. It was his first trip back to New York since the Rangers traded him to Florida on June 20.The 30-year-old defenseman signed a seven-year, $44.45 million contract three days after the deal. Yandle spent one full season with the Rangers and part of another after they acquired him from the Coyotes on March 1, 2015.Its special for sure, Yandle said. Such a fun building to play in.The Rangers briefly retook the lead early in the third when Mats Zuccarello bounced a shot off Zibanejads body at 1:45. The goal was Zibanejads fifth of the season, but the Panthers eliminated the deficit when Ekblad scored his fifth with 7:54 left.Sunday was the first time the Rangers lost back-to-back games this season, but they remain two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Eastern Conference. They play a home-and-home with Pittsburgh this week.They had a couple opportunities in tight where Hank (Lundqvist) had to make some big saves, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. But thats the type of game right now that seems to be played throughout the league, tight. We were pretty even on both sides and lost in the shootout.Game notes Prior to the game, Rangers broadcaster Sam Rosen was honored for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rosen was joined on the ice by members of his family and broadcast partner Joe Micheletti, and former partner John Davidson. ... The Rangers scratched D Adam Clendening and C Oscar Lindberg. ... Zibanejad appeared in his 300th game and is three assists away from 100 for his career. ... The Panthers scratched C Seth Griffith, C Jared McCain and D Dylan McIlrath, who was making his first visit to New York since he was traded by the Rangers on Nov. 8.UP NEXTRangers: Travel to Pittsburgh on Monday night to play the first game of a home-and-home.Panthers: Return to BB&T Center to host Philadelphia on Tuesday night. ' ' '
