UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping claims he didn’t watch his 2009 knockout loss to Dan Henderson until his promoter booked a rematch at Saturday’s UFC 204.

As you might imagine, the footage made the cocksure Bisping uncomfortable.

“My wife sat next to me – she was watching it, and I said, ‘Oh my god. Jesus. Turn this off. Turn this off,’” Bisping told reporters at a media Q & A in support of his pay-per-view headliner against Dan Henderson at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Seven years ago, Bisping (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) took on Henderson (32-14 MMA, 9-8 UFC) at UFC 100 after they stirred bad blood as opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 9.” But any edge Bisping might have had in the trash-talking department was erased when he felt the power of Henderson’s punches; an early shot seemed to lower his fight IQ and led him to circle into the range of his opponent’s notoriously concussive right hand.

“I’m sure you guys have written (expletive) articles,” Bisping explained. “We all have bad nights at the office. That was a good night at the office for Dan; it was a terrible night for me. What can you say?”

Over the years, it may have been possible for the current champ to avoid the iconic image of his body falling limp to the canvas in the second round, even though it’s a staple of highlight reels. But in advance of the rematch, the footage has been harder to avoid.

With the built-in narrative of revenge pushing the second fight, he eventually was going to have to sit down and squirm.

“Of course, I wanted to see what happened; it was seven years ago,” Bisping said. “But it didn’t resemble me at all. I’d had many fights going into that fight, and that’s not how I fight.”

Now 37, Bisping naturally claims he’s a different competitor than he was in those days. For one, he’s bigger and more muscular, which has led Henderson to suggest performance-enhancing drugs, a charge he turns around by highlighting Henderson’s use of the now-banned testosterone replacement therapy.

Bisping also claims to be a smarter, mentally stronger fighter, which has allowed him to beat expectations after falling short of the belt by losing a pair of title eliminators against Vitor Belfort – another former TRT user – and Luke Rockhold.

“I’m much improved mentally and physically; Dan Henderson is kind of the opposite,” he said. “He’s not on the steroids; he’s older. If you look at the muscle mass he had in that fight compared to now, it’s like two different fighters.”

There’s one very strong piece of evidence to back the Brit’s claims of revival – the middleweight belt, which he won in a massive upset of Rockhold in rematch at UFC 199. He’s also the No. 1 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings.

No. 14-ranked Henderson, though, hasn’t exactly withered on the vine. Just before Bisping upset Rockhold, he pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat by knocking out Hector Lombard with a reverse elbow, setting up the rematch on Saturday.

A big asterisk rests on Bisping’s resume courtesy of Henderson’s right hand, and the American is seeking a Cinderella ending to a decade-plus career after two failed bids for the title.

But if Bisping has anything to do with it, the old-timer will find out how much things have changed since 2009.

“This isn’t even a rematch,” he said, “because the two version of ourselves are so completely different. This is Michael Bisping 2016 versus Dan Henderson 2016, because it’s two completely different fights.”

For more on UFC 204, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.