MMAVu

UFC 89 is in the books, and Michael Bisping of England walked away with a unanimous decision victory over a very game Chris Leben. Bisping was just a bit too fast and technical for Leben to land that bomb, and Bisping’s 5″ reach advantage didn’t hurt either. Leben charged in a few times, landing some shots, but Bisping’s jab opened up a nasty cut and basically pounded on Leben’s face. Good chin on Leben though.

Keith Jardine defeated Brandon Vera via split decision in a close, close fight. Jardine was his usual awkward, plodding self, but Vera just couldn’t seem to get off, hesitating a lot for one reason or another. Both guys took turns rocking each other, and at the end of the first round, Vera appeared to be out on his feet. It’s strange how a fighter (Jardine) that has defeated both Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin get so little respect. Jardine did his own “Tune in Tokyo” nipple twist prior to the fight for good luck. Did anyone else notice “City Boxing” as one of Jardine’s sponsors? City Boxing was Vera’s old management group, the one he had the nasty separation and litigation over. I wonder if that was coincidence or by design?

Luis Cane came up with the perfect game plan for Sokodjou, weathering the early storm, then picking Sokodjou apart and scoring a TKO after Sokodjou gassed towards the end of the first round. I can’t help but wonder when Soko is going to improve his cardio. He has a good camp, but his cardio is horrible. How can you expect to win with such a small gas tank?

Chris Lytle vs Paul Taylor was a stand-up, crowd-pleasing battle. Lytle appeared to gas in the second half of the fight, probably due to the hail mary bombs he was tossing. Lytle takes it by unanimous decision.

The first card on the Spike TV card was Marcus Davis taking on Paul Kelly, with Davis showing crisp striking and frustrating Kelly. Kelly went for a take down in round two, and apparently didn’t hear his corner yell, “Watch your neck!!” and got caught in a guillotine choke.

Here’s the rest of the fights:

-Dan Hardy def. Akihiro Gono by Split Decision, R3
-Shane Carwin def. Neil Wain by TKO (Strikes) at 1:31 R1
-David Bielkheden def. Jess Liaudin by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Terry Etim def. Sam Stout by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Jim Miller def. David Baron by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:19, R3
-Per Eklund def. Sammy Schiavo by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:47, R3

UFC 89 AWARDS AND BONUSES
(Each fighter received a $40,000 bonus. Too bad it wasn’t in pounds.)

UFC 89 FIGHT OF THE NIGHT:
Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor

UFC 89 KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT:
Luis Cane

UFC 89 SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT:
Jim Miller

The UFC 89 press conference was today, with UFC UK President Marshal Zelaznik running the show, and hopefully it was just the calm before the storm, as the fighters were nothing but cordial to each other.  The closest anyone got to trash talking was when Chris Leben sarcastically told Michael Bisping he had a nice suit, while Bisping shot back something about Leben’s black fingernails. Not the typical Leben trash-talking for sure. Maybe it’s what happens when you mature and lay off the booze.

In any event, here’s the full card and predictions. This thing airs FREE on Spike TV, so there’s no reason to miss it.

Main Event:
Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben (Bisping is a 2-1 favorite, and he has the size, reach and technique advantage. He also has “main-evented” before, and that’s a big thing regardless of what anyone says. Leben may have more power and the better chin, and their ground work is a wash. Look for Bisping to score a TKO victory.)

Main Card:
Keith Jardine vs Brandon Vera (Vera hasn’t been himself as of late, losing to Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum, and decisioning Reese Andy. He can ill afford to lose this fight, but neither can Keith Jardine, who is trying to shake the win one, lose one label. Look for Vera’s weight cut to go smoother this time, and grind out a decision win.)
Thierry Rameau Sokoudjou vs Luiz Cane (Tough call on this one, Sokodjou by TKO. Or Cane. Hehe.)
Paul Taylor vs Chris Lytle (Lytle has too much experience for Taylor, Lytle by TKO.)
Paul Kelly vs Marcus Davis (Kelly is on the rise, but it’s not his time to beat Davis yet. Davis by submission.)

Preliminary Card:
Dan Hardy vs Akihiro Gono (Gono by submission)
Shane Carwin vs Neil Wain (Carwin by TKO)
Jess Liaudin vs David Beilkheden (Liaudin by decision)
Sam Stout vs Terry Etim (Stout by TKO)
David Baron vs Jim Miller (Miller by decision)
Per Eklund vs Samy Schiavo (Schiavo by submission)