Winner of Henderson vs. Franklin to be T.U.F. 9 coach

At a question and answer session for UFC "Fight Club" members on Tuesday, UFC President Dana White confirmed that either Dan Henderson or RichFranklin would be on the opposite side of the cage from Michael Bisping when the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter gets underway.

Franklin and Henderson will meet at light heavyweight in the main event of UFC 93 on Jan. 17 in Dublin, Ireland to determine who will get the opportunity.

The new season of The Ultimate Fighter will feature lightweights and welterweights and film in Las Vegas beginning in January of 2009. The show will pit 16 U.S. fighters against 16 fighters from the U.K.

Henderson was originally rumored to be a lock for the coaching position, but an October story in Fighters Only magazine revealed that Franklin was in the running as well. Franklin served as a coach on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Matt Hughes. Henderson made an appearance in the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter, showing up to support his Team Quest South teammate Krzysztof Soszynski.

Bisping, a native of Liverpool, was the winner of the third season of the show and recently netted his biggest win to date, defeating Chris Leben by unanimous decision at UFC 89. He is currently training at the Wolfslair Gym in Liverpool, helping new gym addition Quinton Jackson prepare for WanderleiSilva at UFC 92.