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BY WADE KELLER, MMATORCH SUPERVISING EDITOR
Dan Henderson [artist Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
After tonight's replay of Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping, UFC cut away from Henderson's post-fight interview before he made a controversial comment. Here's what UFC didn't want the Spike TV audience to hear tonight:
When asked by Joe Rogan about punching Bisping after he clearly was already knocked out on his back on the mat, Henderson said: "Normally I'm not that way in fights. I know if a guy is out I tend to stop. I knew I hit him out. I think that one was just to shut him up a little bit."
It was a controversial statement which Henderson retracted afterward in his post-fight press conference. On the UFC 100 special on Spike TV tonight, they cut away from Henderson's post-fight interview and the second unnecessary punch (but legal because fighters are instructed to fight until the ref steps in) and went to him talking briefly at his post-fight press conference later in the night.
UFC cut out most of the post-fight interviews, but the timing of the exactly moment they cut away from Henderson's comments is hardy coincidental considering how Dana White reacted initially to Hendo's comment.
Keller's Analysis: It was the right thing for UFC to do because it was a crazy thing for Henderson to say in the first place. In the heat of the moment, he did what he did, and in the elation of victory minutes later, he said what he said. Bisping has since said he holds no hard feelings over the second punch. I wrote an editorial about the punch last month (Editorial Link) which led to a lot of debate here on the site with Reader Reax articles. For UFC to deliberately edit out Hendo's comment, it shows they realize it's potentially bad for the sport to have a fighter in victory admitting he knew when he threw a punch that it was unnecessary for victory and just added an extra blow to a vulnerable fighter because he ticked him off with his mouth for months leading up to the fight.
Meanwhile, live on Showtime, commentator Frank Shamrock was explicitly complimentary of Gegard Mousasi in his victory for stopping his barrage of punches when he saw that he had Bobalu Sobral knocked out even though it was before ref John McCarthy stepped in to stop the fight. While there are many instances, including Hendo vs. Bisping, of fighters doing damage after it's clear they've sealed a win because the ref hasn't stepped in yet, Mousasi's classy conduct tonight is an example of a fighter who stopped when he knew 100 percent he had the fight won even though the ref had yet to step in and call it officially.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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