And so it begins.

Multiple reports declared that the long rumored/pseudo confirmed middleweight title fight between reigning champion Michael Bisping and challenger Dan Henderson has been agreed to by all parties involved and would take place at UFC 204, on Oct. 8 in Manchester, England. Bisping himself went on to confirm this fact on his SiriusXM Rush radio show The Countdown with Michael Bisping. He then proceeded to talk about the match and his belief that Henderson will take banned substances before their fight.

"Let me tell you this, lightning does not strike twice. It struck once the first time, it will not strike twice. There will be no TRT, no drugs, no steroids, no performance-enhancing drugs. Dan Henderson I challenge you to announce to me at the press conference that you will not take any performance-enhancing drugs, that if USADA show up on any day, any time they can test you, because I think he's gonna cheat. I think he's gonna go out there and have some sneaky PEDs because he's gonna think, ‘Well screw it. If I get suspended, so what? I'm retiring anyway.'

"I think he's gonna juice because if he gets popped, he's just gonna get suspended. That is no consequence to him and people will remember that he retired as champion even though it would be a No Contest. If he was to get the win, he could still retire saying, ‘I just beat the world champion.'"

Henderson brutally knocked out Bisping in their first match at UFC 100 and followed up with a diving elbow that became one of the greatest highlights in UFC history. However, Henderson's victory came at a time in which TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) was allowed with a therapeutic use exemption, something Henderson had and -made use of. Bisping has been a long-time opponent of any PED usage and has long maintained that the TRT usage of Henderson was a key and unacceptable factor in the outcome of their fight.

Now, there are no therapeutic use exemptions for TRT and USADA has taken over drugs testing for the UFC. Should USADA catch Henderson for using TRT or any other performance-enhancing drugs, his title shot would be ruined and Henderson, who has said he is retiring after this fight regardless of outcome, will be left to enter into retirement shamefully. And while Bisping admits these factors may be enough to deter Henderson, Bisping still believes that Dan is going to break the rules.

"But then again, the problem with that is if he was to go out there and do that, with USADA, - and I'm gonna make sure this guy is thoroughly tested - and if he was to test positive, then the fight would be off. So that is the only deterrent I think. Because he's gonna earn a lot of money for this fight and if he wants to collect on that paycheck, he's got to make it to the octagon. So he's playing with fire but we've seen it time and time again, people do play with fire even though they know USADA might turn up...People do make these stupid f**king mistakes. Dan Henderson being a weird version of bloody Fred Flintstone - that's what I'm gonna nickname him, he looks like Fred Flintstone - he will probably make that mistake."

Assuming all goes according to plan for Bisping, he will be fighting Henderson in just over eight weeks time, and after that he intends to deal with all the "pussies at 185" who have complained about Bisping defending his belt against the 13th ranked middleweight. But first, he has to get his revenge, preferably in as devastating a fashion as the loss he suffered to Henderson.

"I plan on putting a beating on Henderson that people will never forget in a long, long time."

MUST-READ STORIES

Certified official. Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson is almost officially official.

Rules. MMA rules committee will discuss 12-6 elbows and instant replay next.

Just give her a belt already. Cris Cyborg will headline UFC Fight Night 95.

EXTRA CREDIT READING

PEDs. George Dvorsky of Gizmodo discusses the futility of the war against PEDs.

More PEDs. Iain Kidd of Bloody Elbow wrote about Nandrolone.

MEDIA STEW

Champ camp.

DC and Kenny ain't no Dennis the Menace.

I love the music Cro Cop is listening to during training.

So the Olympics officially start today and 8 years ago there was this woman competing who was pretty good at Judo. She went on to be a very good MMA fighter but then she disappeared and no one is sure where she went.

Ouch. That's gotta be a shot to the confidence.

LISTEN UP

TWEETS

He back, mama!

I'm confused. How is getting tested BS when that is the entire thing you want?

We clean athletes can get fed up with the bullshit from time to time. https://t.co/NOWndYseTn — michael (@bisping) August 5, 2016

DL reminding everyone he's the best MMA social media presence.

If I get in a car accident with someone playing Pokemon Go, I will beat that ass — Derrick Lewis (@Thebeast_ufc) August 4, 2016

Surprised with this call.

Yes fight fans, the rumors are STILL true. Demoted from co-main event, to PRELIMS... Results will be the same #Putbubbaonthemaincard — Bubba Jenkins (@BubbaJenkinsMMA) August 4, 2016

Sparring at the Ultimate Fighter gym in preparation for UFC 202. #16days #TheMacLife pic.twitter.com/ohAJumH2O1 — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 4, 2016

Worth checking out.

At the Pearl Harbor Naval Base pic.twitter.com/PJ0rTOa0ot — Sage Northcutt (@sagenorthcutt) August 4, 2016

Khabib is amazing.

Jacare isn't too bad either.

Ranch Life. Got my Orlando City boy @rustymalinoski staying in my RV calls me in pure panic mode!! #catchandrelease A video posted by Donald Cerrone (@cowboycerrone) on Aug 4, 2016 at 2:44pm PDT

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ian McCall (13-5-1) vs. Ray Borg (9-2-0); UFC 203, September 10.

Jussier Formiga (18-4-0) vs. Dustin Ortiz (15-5-0); UFC Fight Night 95, September 24.

Roy Nelson (21-13-0) vs. Antonio Silva (19-9-1); UFC Fight Night 95, September 24.

Anastasia Yankova (3-0-0) vs. Veta Arteaga (2-0-0); Bellator 161, September 16.





FINAL THOUGHTS

We did it. The weekend is finally here. Not the best fight card on Saturday but some fun scraps if you've got nothing else to do that night. And if you just want to take the weekend off, no harm in that because once 202 gets here there is no free weekend until October 22.

Also, Fred Flintstone? Damn man. Sometimes I wonder about the the trash talk fighters drop.

Anyway, have a good weekend M.Rmy. Hope it kicks all the ass and I'll see you back here on Monday.

If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, just hit me up on Twitter @JedKMeshew and let me know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting because we post dope things and you should enjoy them.