The UFC gives us another free event on SpikeTV this weekend as they once again return to England. British favorite Michael Bisping once again fights on his native turf in a postponed battle against Chris Leben. While there isn’t a huge main event for this fight card, the event if packed with solid fights that should be fun to watch.
Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben – Michael Bisping and Chris Leben were originally slated to fight each other at UFC 85, but Leben was unable to fight after turning himself to authorities in Oregon on an outstanding warrant. Leben’s legal troubles are now behind him and the fight is now on track.
Chris Leben has always been known as a wild character with heavy hands. Leben won his first five fights in the UFC before running into the unstoppable force that is Anderson Silva. Since the loss to Silva has gone a mediocre 3-2 but has won his last two fights with powerful KO victories.
Since dropping down to the middleweight division, Michael Bisping has shown no ill-affects or loss of power. In fact, Bisping’s striking seem much sharper and his hand speed seems quicker. No doubt, both fights are going to look to stand and slug it out. While Leben’s technical striking has greatly improved, I still don’t think its on the level of Bisping. Also, I don’t think Leben will be able to handle Bisping’s striking speed and Leben’s defense leaves too many holes for Bisping to exploit. That being said, it only takes one solid shot from Chris Leben to drop any opponent to the floor. Winner: Michael Bisping
Keith Jardine vs Brandon Vera – Few people have been on the extreme roller-coaster that Keith Jardine has been recently. Jardine went from huge upset over current light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin to a devastating 48 second loss to Houston Alexander. Jardine followed up that loss by defeating long-time champion Chuck Liddell only too lose again in under 40 seconds to Wanderlei Silva. The fact is that Keith Jardine can compete with the best in the game when he has a game plan and sticks to it. We also know that Jardine is susceptible to getting clipped and put to sleep early in brutal fashion.
As far as Brandon Vera is concerned, we really can’t know what to expect from “The Truth” in only his second fight at light heavyweight. In his 205 lb. debut, it was clear that the weight cut had taken a huge toll on Vera’s speed and conditioning as he scraped out a boring decision victory against Reese Andy. If Vera can get the weight cut down and keep his speed and agility, he could pose some tough problems for Jardine. Vera has the edge in the clinch game and on the ground. Look for Jardine to utilize his effective leg kick game against Vera to try and keep Brandon at a distance. This fight really is a toss up in my book, but I think Vera takes this fight bia decision. Winner: Brandon Vera
Rameau Sokoudjou vs Luis Cane – Luis Cane is an excellent prospect in the light heavyweight division and is not someone to be taken lightly. His only career loss came via disqualification against James Irvin due to an illegal knee to a downed opponent. Cane has excellent striking skills that should prove for an exciting fight against a fighter like Rameau Sokoudjou. What Cane most likely lacks, is the raw, brute power that Sokoudjou possesses. However, since his two spectacular victories in PrideFC against Ricardo Arona and Antonio Nogueira, Sokou has been somewhat lackluster. While I like Sokou and will be rooting for him, I think that Cane picks up another victory here and Sokou’s hype will completely be erased. Winner: Luis Cane
Paul Taylor vs Chris Lytle – Paul Taylor and Chris Lytle both love to stand and trade punches so don’t look for this fight to hit the mat much. Lytle has had what can probably be considered a disappointing career; never being able to get “over the hump” and defeat the top level opponents. Fortunately for Lytle, Taylor isn’t one of those top level guys in the welterweight division and Lytle seems to be ablle to handle mid-range fights without much problem. I expect some fireworks in this matchup and don’t expect the fight to go to decision. Winner: Chris Lytle
Paul Kelly vs Marcus Davis – After putting together an impressive eleven fight winning streak, Marcus Davis is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mike Swick at UFC 85. Paul Kelly has yet to lose in his MMA career with a career record of 7-0 and is coming off an exciting decision victory at UFC 80 where he defeated Paul Taylor. Davis also holds a victory over Taylor, but Davis’ came via first round submission at UFC 75. Both fighters love to stand and box so expect this fight to stay on the feet. Davis has the edge in quickness and hand speed and I expect his experience to play a factor in this fight. Davis is tough to finish and we’ve seen him work his way out of some tough spots and I expect he’ll be able to get the victory against Paul Kelly. Winner: Marcus Davis
Dan Hardy vs Akihiro Gono – Winner: Akihiro Gono
Shane Carwin vs Neil Wain – Winner: Shane Carwin
Jess Liaudin vs David Bielkheden – Winner: David Bielkheden
Sam Stout vs Terry Etim – Winner: Terry Etim
David Baron vs Jim Miller – Winner: Jim Miller
Per Eklund vs Samy Schiavo – Winner: Samy Schiavo
Loading ...
Caesar Gracie
John
Yael Grauer
Dale
Tyler Johnson
felo
Mike
Tony
Shawn
Ben Cartlidge
I am picking Leben by KO -
Kansas, that makes you me Rj and Richard all picking Leben. The thing is, he needs to stop Bisping, because if it goes to the cards hes definately at a disadvantage…
Yes, and that is why I picked Leben, he is sharper, he is cut like he’s never been, I think his power trumps every fighter in the 185 save Anderson Silva- bottom line is Bisping doesn’t have one shot KO power, but Leben does, and if Leben catches him, he wins….
I can definitely see that happening, but I really think that Leben’s defense is so spotty and Bisping’s hand speed is so much faster than Leben’s that he’ll be able to land the strikes he needs to.
:) Hey Doc, we will have to agree to disagree on this one… lol… I know that Bisping is a good and fast fighter, but after the Hamil fight, I think his inability to deal with a much stronger fighter was exposed, and yes he can outwork an opponent, like Forrest as of late, but Leben’s an animal and I believe he will be the Chuck/Wandy of the 185 fairly soon.. just my take on him, he is getting serious about his career, and is tightening up his game, which will bring him to his peak, where he has NEVER up to this point been, I mean he has HANDLED guys with KO power while being out of shape and not even taking it seriously… Bisping on the other end has always had a tight game, and is at his peak or close to it and has been, there isn’t much more he can do than what he’s done, Leben had more to improve, therefore he is MORE dangerous, Bisping is MORE of the same..
Dont forget that Hamil was a bigger stronger fighter at 205, not at 185.
To be honest, im not sure if Bisping can hurt Leben on the feet.. im sure he could tag him and dance around to win a decision, but i dont think he can stop Leben. Hes got a head like a rock man!
Did anyone see countdown to 89? Leben said that when he graduated highschool he couldnt even read. Im not sure what school is like in the US, but that seems impossible to me.
Lebens not a guy who wastes time on things like learning to read, he uses his brain as a shock absorber for punches.
Sadly, it is true. Kids graduate all the time with a very minimal knowledge and what probably amounts to a 3rd grade education
Serious eh??? i mean, how easy could the curriculum be? even if the test questions are easy, you still have to know how to read the question right? Im not saying its incredibly hard here in canada, but you definately have to study and do your homework if you intend to pass with a 50%.
He was saying how if it wasnt for wrestling he would have never graduated. So do highschool coaches and teachers help athletes pass to help get them to college teams or whatever?? wow thats ****** up man, highschool teams dont mean **** here, theres no way would they pass someone for athletic reasons.
Here if you have trouble learning they have special schools and stuff, but they dont just pass you along.
yeah man it is a lot harder in Canada to get through school without learning the basics, its not due to us being smarter but i think it has a lot to do with population. with so many more people in the country means so many more students in the classroom and so much less opportunity for teachers to give attention to the kids who need it.
**** over here in cali when i was in school there was like 30-35 kids in a class plus u have to deal with all the gang bullsh#it i think out of like 20 guys i know maybe no more than five graduated
Oh ya, not graduating i can understand, but actually making it all the way through without being able to read? thats pretty impressive if you ask me hehe. Maybe they just cheat or something, cant think of any other way to do it.
Doc I also disagree with your take on Jardine and Vera – I thought and still think that Vera wasn’t strong as a HW, and not much better as a LHW – he has sat on points and not done well lately, while Jardine has show resiliance in the face of back to back win loss win loss, I think his choppy pattern with continue in this fight, he will win, I think he will stand in there and take Veras best, throw his own and eek out a decision…. just my thought… Jardine will come in with something to prove, Vera will come in looking to pull another W only, not to “PROVE” anything..
NOTE:
Sardine is not a contender, and if EVER given a Griffin re-match, I say Griffin takes it by points every time… also, Sardines “I take that fight 9 of 10 times” with regard to Wandy, was somewhat cocky, ridiculous, and haughty, and I have less respect for the man…. Wandy is the veteran, the KO king and said he would do it in round 1 and did… Sardine is just a sore loser, and if he would watch the replay, he would see what I saw, his sorry tail getting rape choked and ko’ed into a stiff wide eyed paraplegic .. just another THOUGHT.. lol
I like Vera in this fight, even if he plays it safe and jabs at Jardine from a distance. Hes starting to play the Tim Sylvia game which alot of people dont like, but i think hes still got the tools to win. Jardines leg kicks are neutralized, so all thats left is Jardines wide open style vs Veras straight down the middle striking with a big reach advantage.
About Jardine saying he would beat Wandy 9 out of 10 times LOL, thats just ridiculous man and its disrespectful for him to even say something stupid like that. He just mad thaqt he got layed out in a matter of seconds. Maybe he COULD beat Wandy, if he danced around and countered trying to win points, but he didnt, he chose to stand and bang and we all know what happened.
Heres a matchup for you guys, Jardine vs Rampage.. both got that wide open style of striking, both would rather avoid the ground, could be a hell of a slugfest.
yeah it could be a slugfest…. right up until Rampage hits Jardine lol. i dont think Jardine has a good enough chin, head movement, or KO power to win against Rampage. Jackson would eventually touch that chin and put him out.
I think Rampage would take it too RJ, but even though Keith doesnt have a chin like Rampage, he has that nasty leg kick. We all saw how effectively Forrest was able to use it against Rampage. So that might be a bit of an equalizer for Jardine because those kicks are definately wreaking havok on Quints footwork and could throw off his whole striking game.
I just think it would be an intersting matchup.
yeah i guess your right i never really thought about the leg kick thing, i guess if Jardine could keep a bit of space between them he could work the kicks. now that you say it like that it does peek my interest for a match up like that.
Well if Rampage loses to Wandy again (fingers crossed) that could easily set up a Jardine/Rampage fight.
i cant wait for tomorrow night, its been a while since i was hyped about a lackluster card.
for my Canadian brothers, apparently SportsNet will showing UFC89 tomorrow live at 3pm est. i cant say 100% for sure this is the truth, but i do know they have a TV contract with UFC and they do show things like the Ultimate Fighter and such so its not improbable. so if your wanting to see it live and you have SportsNet check it out.
Oh ****! good call RJ, i got that channel and it says UFN on the guide, if this is really it your the man! lol. Then we could come back and spoil it for everyone!!! lol j/k. Thanks for the scoop bro.
yeah man they are going to show it i think, im on that channel right now and they are showing the UFC 89 hype show so im assuming they are going to show it.
yup im watching it too for the 2nd time, its like 35 min Bisping, 20 min Leben and 5 min Jardine and Vera lol. They should have called this all access Bisping feat Chris Leben..
lol yeah man they dont even mention anyone else on the card lol.
right now there showing a Mariah Carry video called “touch my body” lol and its quite the song…. the one part she says “touch my body, throw me on the bed… something, something, something” the next line should be “and i’ll give you…” lol. SportsNet shows the weirdest videos for being a sports channel.
LOL that videos funny, shes singing in such a soft melodic way, then at one point she says, “i will take you down” LOL. It just doesnt seem to fit, whats the next line “i will slit your throooooat”
yeah dude she a loony toon, but in real life lol.
Ok i was checking out the results of the prelims, so far im 5-1, my only loss was Gono so far..
Dam i cant wait till Carwin gets a real opponent, i wanna see what he can do against a tough HW, hes such a monster.
lol mine is like 1-5 im sucking bad lately, right after i did real well on that one card (and my head swelled up) i started sucking BAD! lol.
1-5?? howd you manage that man? lol picking all underdogs? did you pick Carwin for your win??
yeah man, i thought it would be the night of the dog. and no i didnt pick Carwin i was confused about who he was until it was to late and i couldnt change it.
daaaaaam… Carwin doesnt get the exposure he deserves man, but i think hes gonna get that respect soon. I guess its because its only his 2nd fight in the UFC. But the guys 9-0 and nobody has got out of the 1st round alive! lol ok they were alive, but barely hehe.
yeah after i realized i didnt pick him i went and checked up on him and now i know im an idiot for not picking him lol
Oh man! looks like Davis might be competing with Rashad for sharpest nipples in MMA, i think he needs to tweak that **** before the fight for luck lol.
LMAO hes a glass cutter in his spare time lol.
you have Davis in the first fight right?
Ya i picked Davis to win, nice first round..
Very nice fight, not exactly how i expected it to end.. but it was a very technical match, great stuff..
well here we go!
im not going to put up any spoilers so im not really going to say much about the fight but it was good.
Ya its tough not to say anything but its best we dont spoil it for the yankees lol.
yeah dont wanna piss off the Americans they’ll start a war lol jk
So Lytle vs Taylor coming up next, i know some people were picking Taylor to upset Lytle, though i like Lytle so i picked him to win. Could be an interesting match though…
who you got in this one RJ?
i got Lytle round 2 tko.
Wow! you see how those guys came out of the gate??? that was crazy man hehe
alright homie i hate to cut this short but me and wifey are going out for my birthday dinner, i will continue this at 9:00pm…. peace.
Happy Birthday man! have fun.