UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben

© Marc Wickert 
www.knucklepit.com
October 24, 2008
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges

At UFC 89, Chris Leben was expected to be one of the toughest opponents Michael Bisping was to face thus far in his MMA career.
There was also a lot of pressure on Brandon Vera and Keith Jardine to each prove himself in the co-main event.
Shane Carwin (9-0-0) was eager to showcase his skills before the Manchester (England) crowd, but with none of his matches lasting halfway into the first round, fans had seen little of him.
And Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Luiz Cane was a World War III promoter’s dream.

In earlier matches:
David Bielkheden def. Jess Liaudin by unanimous decision.
Dan Hardy def. Akihiro Gono by split decision.
Terry Etim def. Sam Stout by unanimous decision.
Jim Miller def. David Baron by RNC – 3.19, Round Three.
Per Eklund def. Samy Schiavo by RNC – 1.47, Round Three.

The Battles

Marcus Davis (5’10” 171 lb) vs. Paul Kelly (5’9” 169 lb) 
– Welterweight
Referee: Marc Goddard

Round One
Southpaw Marcus leg-kicked and Paul countered with a right cross.
4.35: Marcus failed with a leg kick.
4.27: Marcus landed his next kick.
4.24: Paul came in with a right hand; Marcus returned a left uppercut and a right hook.
3.56: Davis snuck a left hand past Kelly’s guard.
3.36: Kelly moved in and Davis picked him off with jabs.
2.24: Davis delivered a shin to Kelly’s midsection after keeping Kelly at bay with jabs and moving off line when Kelly tried to close the gap.
1.58: Marcus kicked Paul’s legs and body.
1.35: Marcus took Paul down and Paul went for a guillotine before giving it up at 1.24, allowing Marcus to fight from half guard.
0.59: Marcus took side control.
0.48: Paul spun off his back and the pair scrambled to their feet.  Paul fought bravely, but Marcus was outclassing him in the opening set.

Round Two
Davis continued to dispense jabs and leg kicks.
3.07: Kelly scored a takedown; Davis locked his right arm under Kelly’s throat as he tugged on Davis’s right leg to keep him down.
2.48: Marcus rolled onto his back and applied a guillotine.  Paul tapped.

Result: Marcus Davis by guillotine – 2.16, Round Two.

Chris Lytle (5’11” 170 lb) vs. Paul Taylor (6’0” 170 lb) 
– Welterweight
Referee: Kevin Mulhall

Round One
These two guys slung sledgehammers from the word go.
4.18: Chris caught Paul’s kick, they clinched, and Paul was against the fence as Chris attacked his body with hooks.
3.42: They separated.
3.23: They were tied up again, with Paul forcing Chris into the fence.
3.20: Lytle got a hip throw on Taylor from the clinch.  Taylor sprung to his feet and they wrapped up, with Taylor pressed into the cage.
2.41: Taylor reversed positions as they traded close-quarter blows.
2.39: Lytle rotated his opponent and landed a left and a right hook.
2.27: They parted as Paul landed an elbow, but failed with his high kick.
The rest of the round consisted of rough-house striking as they floated in and out of clinches.

Round Two
They came out for the next five much the same as at the start of round one, with both men hurling big shots.
4.31: Taylor was backed into the fence.
4.18: Lytle seized one of Taylor’s knee strikes and pulled him to the canvas.
4.07: Lytle had half guard before Taylor rolled the pair and Lytle got a loose guillotine.
3.24: They were standing and traded from center ring.
2.53: Paul swept Chris from the clinch and they stood whilst still locked up.  They took turns at leading the clinch waltz.
1.55: The toe-to-toe was back on.
1.23: Paul caught Chris with a squirrel kick and Kevin Mulhall called time out.  The crowd winced in pain as the strike was replayed on the big screen.
1.03: Chris forced Paul into the wires; however each time they tied up there was plenty of in-close striking.  This was a hard-fought brawl.

Round Three
Not surprisingly, the opening of this last five was like Armageddon – both men were slinging H-bombs.
4.13: Lytle backed Taylor into the cage.  UFC claims to be ‘as real as it gets’ and this shootout resembled a car park street fight.  Lytle spent a lot of gas hurling haymakers, but he also scored with a lot of body shots that taxed Taylor’s tank.
3.18: They parted.  Taylor favored the leg kicks throughout the match and he continued to slam more into Lytle’s thighs.
1.57: The ref broke their clinch.
1.24: Chris took Paul down.  Both men had worn everything their opponent threw at them, so it was now obvious this bout wasn’t going to end with a KO, and they were too buggered to win by submission.
0.51: They stood up.  Paul closed the bout strongly; however it wasn’t enough to take the fight.

Result: Chris Lytle by unanimous decision.

Luiz Cane (6’2” 206 lb) vs. Rameau Sokoudjou (6’0” 205 lb) 
- Light Heavyweight
Referee: Marc Goddard

Round One
4.38: Rameau attempted a leg kick on southpaw Luiz.
4.32: Rameau’s second kick impacted on Luiz’s inside leg.  Sokoudjou followed with a high kick, but Cane counterpunched.
4.16: Cane dispatched a left hand before Sokoudjou replied with a fist combo and a powerful kick to the midsection.
4.07: Cane body-punched.  Sokoudjou unloaded fists, followed by damaging kicks.
3.15: Rameau fired off another powerful kick; however Luiz was now blocking more of Rameau’s strikes and kept coming after him.
3.07: Luiz ripped in his own body kick.
2.59: Sokoudjou low-kicked Cane’s left leg, nearly sweeping it.
2.48: Sokoudjou flung a low- and a high-kick combo, then followed with a salvo of knuckles.
2.06: Sokoudjou delivered another assortment of shots – all nuke tipped.  But Cane kept coming.
0.48: Cane slammed a kick into Sokoudjou’s stomach before driving a mitt into the same spot.  Sokoudjou had landed wrecking balls throughout the first round, but Cane was unshakeable.

Round Two
Luiz closed in on Rameau.
4.36: He drove a kick into Rameau’s bell tower and Marc Goddard pressed the pause button as Rameau performed a bowlegged shuffle to his corner.
4.12: Play resumed.  Sokoudjou blasted into action with a leaping kick.  The banging continued, but now Cane was jabbing out his stamp of authority.
2.16: Cane kneed to the body.
1.15: Cane caught Sokoudjou with a left knee, a right and a left hand, and Sokoudjou crashed.  Cane finished him off with g’n’p.

Result: Luiz Cane by TKO – 4.15, Round One.

Shane Carwin (6’3” 264 lb) vs. Neil Wain (5’10” 254 lb) 
– Heavyweight
Referee: Dan Miragliotta

4.53: There was a lightning flutter of gloves before the pair tied up.
4.36: They broke free and a brief broadside followed.
4.28: Shane took Neil down and got half guard.
3.57: Shane had side control and was raining down leather.
3.36: He mounted Neil and pounded some more.
3.29: Dan Miragliotta stepped in.

Result: Shane Carwin by TKO – 1.31, Round One.

Keith Jardine (6’2” 205 lb) vs. Brandon Vera (6’2” 203 lb) 
– Light Heavyweight
Referee: Kevin Mulhall

Round One
Keith taunted Brandon from across the Octagon.  Brandon seemed to ignore it, then Kevin Mulhall blew the whistle and the match began.  Keith threw a left and a right as Brandon countered with a leg kick.
4.52: Keith feigned a punch and shot in, taking Brandon down and falling straight into Brandon’s open guard.  Vera attacked Jardine’s skull with elbows before isolating his left arm and taking him into full guard.
3.43: Blood was running down Vera’s back from the cut he opened on Jardine’s head.
3.31: Keith’s arm was free and he commenced his g’n’p campaign.  Brandon retaliated with elbows from below.
2.03: Mulhall stood them up.
1.45: They clinched with Keith’s back to the cage.
1.38: They freed up.
1.33: Jardine leg-kicked.
1.44: Vera leg-kicked.
0.52: Vera leg-kicked again, then switched back and forth from orthodox stance to southpaw.
0.32: Jardine leg-kicked.  Vera knocked Jardine down with a right uppercut, but Keith sprang to his feet and knocked Brandon down with a right hook.  Brandon sprang back up, only to be taken down by Keith, who ended the round well.

Round Two
4.52: They exchanged right hands.
4.45: Vera leg-kicked.
4.34: Vera caught Jardine’s lead leg with a cross kick.
4.27: Jardine leg-kicked.  They kept trading.
3.41: Vera resisted a takedown from Jardine.
3.26: Jardine high-kicked; Vera caught the leg and took Jardine down.  Brandon drove in knees as Keith climbed to his feet.  Brandon was countering with punches as Keith kicked.
0.58: Keith launched a high kick.
0.46: Brandon returned the kick.
0.40: He body-kicked Keith.
0.07: And again.  This round went well for Brandon.

Round Three
4.33: Vera leg-kicked with passion.
4.33: He inside leg-kicked.
4.29: Jardine closed in and Vera tagged him with another leg kick.
4.23: Jardine landed one of his own.
3.57: Vera increased his kick tally.
3.20: Vera delivered a body kick; Jardine caught it and kicked back.  Keith was throwing punches and Brandon was countering with kicks.
2.50: Keith unloaded a salvo of fists.
2.18: Keith went for the takedown; Brandon resisted, but gave up his back, and Keith scored with fists from behind.  They separated.
0.49: Joe Rogan asked, “Who do you give this fight to?”  Mike Goldberg replied, “I don’t know, Joe.”  It could have gone either way.

Result: Keith Jardine by split decision.

Michael Bisping (6’2 185 lb) vs. Chris Leben (5’11” 186 lb) 
– Middleweight
Referee Dan Miragliotta

Leben comes out to the Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen – a tough introduction to beat from a UK band that has been recently touring and conquering all in its path.

Round One
4.49: Southpaw Chris tests the water with a kick to Michael’s legs and Michael returns it.
4.30: Chris leg-kicks some more as Michael focuses on his lightning hand-speed.
3.48: Bisping fails with a takedown and they’re in a clinch.
3.45: Bisping breaks free.
3.29: He counters a leg kick with a right and a left mitt.
3.19: They trade before Bisping attempts a takedown, but Leben wards it off and they tie up, then separate at 3.05.
2.42: Leben keeps moving forward and fires off a leg kick and a lunging knee.  Bisping maintains his precise punching.
2.17: Michael snaps up a kick, then sends out one of his own.
1.25: They clinch after another stand-up exchange.
1.15: They part and Chris shuffles after his opponent.
1.05: Chris lands some heavy hands and Michael dances out of range.  He goes for a takedown on Chris as the hooter sounds.

Round Two
4.29: Leben slips during a kick attempt; Bisping rushes in, but gets plugged with a looping left hand from Leben.
4.11: Leben leaps in with a knee and they tie up.
4.00: They’re loose and banging.  Leben’s nose is cactus from Bisping’s precision boxing and cuts appear on Leben’s face.  But he’s tough as rusty railroad bolts and keeps pushing forward: There’s no reverse gear on machine Leben.
2.53: Bisping cops a kick in the cricket set, so Dan Miragliotta stops the clock for Michael to practice his pranayama. 
Play recommences as Chris hurls bombs; however Michael’s lighter, but more accurate, fists are cutting Chris’s face up.
0.12: Chris tags Michael with a left and beckons Michael to keep banging.  Chris has his hands hanging by his sides and dares his opponent to take his best shot.  The round ends.

Round Three
4.44: Leben belts Bisping with a left loop after punishing his legs with more kicks.
4.36: Bisping stays on his toes, fails with a takedown, then calls time out to get Miragliotta to check his left eye.
4.28: The action recommences.  Leben is more on target with his knuckle packages now, but has a lot of catching up to do.
1.49: He shoots on Bisping and takes him down.
1.11: Michael climbs back up.
1.07: He delivers a right cross.
0.24: In the midst of all the hammer-and-nail thumping, Chris looks at the clock and Michael turns to see what Chris is looking at.  Chris drops his hands by his side again and pokes out his face, begging Michael to hit him with his biggest shot.  The battle ends.

Result: Michael Bisping by unanimous decision.

For more info: www.ufc.tv.

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