Photos: The 50 best images from UFC 204 in Manchester, including Bisping's nasty, nasty cut

UFC 204 may have had a bit of a slow start on Saturday, but when things picked up, they picked up in a major way.

After a ho-hum split decision to open the card, UFC 204 saw nine straight stoppages heading into the main event. And while the headliner didn’t have a finish, for 25 minutes fans were on the edges of their seats wondering if the next punch could be the last one of the fight, because a couple times, it nearly was.

UFC 204 took place Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. And the British fans had much to cheer after 25 minutes thanks to one of their own.

In the main event, Manchester’s own Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) went to war with his old adversary Dan Henderson (32-15 MMA, 9-9 UFC), who knocked him out viciously in 2009. Bisping defended his middleweight title for the first time and took a unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Night” winner – despite being knocked down twice by the challenger.

In those nine fights leading up to it that featured stoppages, we saw a lot of everything – upset knockouts, crushing chokes, awesome armbars … there was something for everyone.

Now you can take a look back at the card through the lens of USA TODAY Sports photographer Per Haljestam.

Above, check out 50 of the best images from all the card – including those cringe-worthyshots of Bisping’s sliced-open face below his left eye.

And for complete coverage UFC 204, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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