UFC 89 Bisping vs. Leben

[miscmisc]

Maybe I've gone blind or something, but I just can't believe that Bisping won it. And EVERYBODY seems to agree with the decision.

Oh, man. I've never felt so uncomfortable being a minority. I didn't see an iota of the "great counter punches" or "elusive moves" of Bisping that everybody else seems to be talking about. He is no Machida. His footwork is horrible.

I'm absolutely dumbfounded.

Shitty fight either way, though.

[ilostmydog]

I didn't watch that fight very closely (not really interested in it, to be honest), but there doesn't seem to be much contention about the decision.

I thought the Taylor/Lytle decision was pretty bad. I had it for Taylor 29-28. I think the judge who gave it to Lytle 30-27 must have been watching a different fight.

[miscmisc]

The video quality was shitty, so I guess I have to rewatch it to see if I'm blind or a glorious minority who can see The Truth, or if it was just all due to the shitty video quality, but I saw a hell of a lot more shots (awkward caveman punches, but still) by Leben land on retreating (=running) Bisping's face/head/neck than the other way around. Leben landed a billion more leg kicks too.

I don't think I'll rewatch that hideous fight, though. Ultimately, I probably don't really care, lol. It's just that Bisping sucked even more than I thought he would. He should've tooled Leben like a motherfucker, because IMHO Leben really really sucks ass.

[Kamatari]

I thought Bisping deserved the decision - the first and only time I'll ever watch it. But I was hoping they'd hand it to Leben anyway. I was basically waiting for that one bomb to land and unfortunately it never happened. I loved how he dropped his hands and Bisping was still so so scared to throw anything.

[Titan]

Poor quality video here, too, but it looked like Bisping took the decision. I don't think he'll become much more than a decision-win fighter either on this level of opponents and up in the UFC. Not sure who's familiar with it, but his fight reminded me of a special kind of boxing we do when we were under 18 here. Essentially you score points without hurting the opponent, and that along with technique, footwork, and so on is scored by the judges. That's what his fighting style reminds me of. He's got a lot of knockouts on his record, but I don't think he's got a one-punch-knockout for anybody to worry about. I think he needs to get stronger in the striking department, and not just "pick points", but that's just me. Plenty of technically sound strikers that hit very, very hard.

[Kamatari]

He should've tooled Leben like a motherfucker, because IMHO Leben really really sucks ass.
It really says something when I end up rooting for Leben cause stylistically he's a nightmare to watch for me. I'm getting really sick of these C level kickboxing fights.

[slash]

I don't have a problem with Bisping winning the decision.
He countered well, busted Leben's face, avoided any real damage.
He fought smart, avoided the brawling.
I had it 29-28.

The biggest dissapointment to me was Vera, again. So much skill, and he doesn't do a thing in a fight.

[Titan]

The worst UFC I can remember in a while. Normally when I'm disappointed with an event, it's because the fights didn't go how I wanted them to, but here, there were just so many forgettable fights. Cane against Sokodjou. What was that? Cane's approach to the fight was topped only by Vera's performance. You have to win fights to stay in the game, but when not bringing much entertainment value, that very fact is weighing against you if you lose. It weighs against you even if you win! Like with Tim Sylvia.

[Titan]

And it's always the big name fighters that don't deliver! I've got a feeling the prelims were much better.

[miscmisc]

He countered well

That's where I disagree with you. He didn't "counter" shit. He was just jabbing, which pretty much only means in that case that he has a massive reach advantage. Good for him, but if anything, he should've been punished for that shitty performance. Losing to Leben in a kickboxing fight via decision would've been a great punishment.

Like Kamatari says, I feel sick watching D-level kickboxing fights in MMA like that. The sheer size of the cage makes it even worse.

[miscmisc]

Regarding the other fights:

- I didn't expect much from Vera, so it wasn't particularly disappointing.

- Yeah, Taylor probably won that fight.

- Cane vs. Sokoudjou was OK. I wouldn't read too much into this outcome, though.

- Looks like David Baron was dominated by Jim Miller. I'm sad.

- Awesome win for Hardy. Looking forward to watching the fight.

- Bruce Buffer sucks.

[slash]

That's where I disagree with you. He didn't "counter" shit. He was just jabbing, which pretty much only means in that case that he has a massive reach advantage. Good for him, but if anything, he should've been punished for that shitty performance. Losing to Leben in a kickboxing fight via decision would've been a great punishment.

Like Kamatari says, I feel sick watching D-level kickboxing fights in MMA like that. The sheer size of the cage makes it even worse.

Well, i watched the fight through the stream, so maybe i didn't see it as you did.
I will watch it again, but i don't believe that Leben would be so bloodied just by jabs.
Bruce Buffer sucks, but Rogan does even more.

[FieldingMellish]

Maybe I've gone blind or something, but I just can't believe that Bisping won it. And EVERYBODY seems to agree with the decision.

Oh, man. I've never felt so uncomfortable being a minority. I didn't see an iota of the "great counter punches" or "elusive moves" of Bisping that everybody else seems to be talking about. He is no Machida. His footwork is horrible.

I'm absolutely dumbfounded.

Shitty fight either way, though.

You may well have gone blind. Leben did nothing to warrant the decision. He blundered forward, fighting like a drunken oaf, taking jabs and counters all along the way. He got two takedowns and did nothing with either of them, he landed some cuffing punches but Bisping took every round, and while I'd rather Bisping had pressed him a little more, your dumbfoundedness dumbfounds me. I haven't watched the fight back yet but I was 10 feet or so from the Octagon, could hear the shots landing and got a fairly graphic view of Leben's messed up face.

[gols]

You need to find a better quality stream Misc, Bisping outboxed him pretty handily. He may have been on the back foot and he was certainly going for the decision instead of the KO but he never came close to losing.

[xavion]

Bisping won the fight, but he wasn't particularly impressive.

[miscmisc]

OK, I was probably wrong, as pretty much 100% of you guys saw it the other way.

But I do die a little inside when people call what Bisping was doing "counter". Absolutely negative, especially given whom he was fighting. I'm not sure where Bisping is trying to go by "outboxing" Chris fucking Leben, of all people.

[Paxlie]

Bisping was not countering, but he was all over Leben who just kept coming forward walking in the punches that Bisping fired. Bisping's timing looked pretty good as well against Leben cause he was almost always the first to hit.

[K-1 Extremist]

Sokoudjou (SP) is seriously OVERHYPED. His train is permanently derailed.

[Jarzi]

Misc, you need a better quality video. Bisping won hands down, he landed about 10x more punches. Bisping took a safe though boring decision.

I wonder why Soko never tried clinch & takedown after he started to get slower. He really needs to learn how to conserve his energy but he's still young.

Pretty shitty event all in all.

[miscmisc]

OK, OK, I got that, gents. No need to hammer it home any further! LOL

Another thing I forgot to mention: I stopped minding Goldberg's inane bubbles, but is he getting creepier and creepier or what. That guy is just such a weirdo. He is becoming exactly the sort of a guy that I would run away from if I bumped into him in the streets, if I were a woman.

[perchdogg]

Seriously disliked this card and I'm even mad at myself for taking the time to watch it. I got better things to do!

On the note of C/D-level kickboxing fights in MMA - I can't say how many times during this card I thought to myself "I so much prefer K-1 MAX to this."

I don't have much faith in Carwin as a HW prospect - I think he's gonna have gas tank issues.

I was happy with Davis' win, a lone high point in the night for me, but that's because I used to train at Sityodtong a few years back and I just love the efforts Marcus makes to round out his game.

Sokoudjou seemed to gas pretty badly and something I observed from the Nakamura fight - it looks like if he doesn't put you away fairly quickly, he runs out of things to try. that happened here and coupled with his gassing, he looked like crap.

As for Brandon Vera: I don't know that a fighter has fallen from such high esteem to such low esteem in my eyes since Frank Shamrock. He's lost 3 of 4 and looked like garbage in all 4 fights. He's already lost in the new weight class he was supposed to be perfectly-suited for.

Leben/Bisping... ugh. I think Anderson would beat them both, back to back, in under 5 minutes. Bisping is same story as Vera; he's in this new weight class with such a disproportionate amount of hype behind him and seems to have not nearly the game to back any of it up. If Anderson Silva is indeed retiring, I hope that one of his last 5-6 fights is NOT against Bisping, as that would be a waste of 1 of his great displays.

Thank goodness we get Anderson next weekend - a high point for the UFC.

And lastly, Rogan and Goldberg have become absolutely intolerable in my view.

[Chewbaca Joe]

I didn't feel any need to watch this and my suspicions have been confirmed.

The only thing I could think about beforehand was all of Leben's new ink. As somebody who has been gatting tattooed for twenty years I can tell you with great certainty that he wasn't training properly. You can't with fresh tatts. And he had so much new shit it would've taken 50+ hours in the chair which would have to have been spaced out over weeks and then of course each new patch of work takes a minimum of one week (more like ten days to two weeks) to heal up. This guy cares more for his looks than his fights.

Normally I'd feel good about the only pick I make coming true but damn. I'm getting tired of all these throwaway cards in what is allegedly the superbowl of mixed martial arts. At least Zuffa was sharp enough to not try to charge for it.

[Paul T]

If the UFC started using Yellow cards, it would solve some of these problems.

Jardine and Vera needed to finish eachother.

Bisping was fighting not to lose, as opposed to trying to win IMO.

I wish i had watched Hopkins versus Pavlik instead....

Oh, i liked Marcu Davis, but they really need to cut down on the hype.
good grief, they talked about his perfect footwork and great timing and distance etc.....
He fought a good fight, but he is a B fighter in my book.

[miscmisc]

I'm getting tired of all these throwaway cards in what is allegedly the superbowl of mixed martial arts. At least Zuffa was sharp enough to not try to charge for it.

I'm still not 100% sure about how the economy will affect the overall PPV buys in the US. But there is a possibility that it will severely set the UFC back. There is a not-so-small cloud over their "European expansion" scheme as well.

You might be actually witnessing its golden age, with Bisping outboxing Leben in a packed English arena in the main event of the evening.

PS: But then, those old Greek/Roman arenas were packed even though the whole eco-political-system was being shredded into pieces. That's why I'm still not 100% sure.

[tinobar]

edit

[Jarzi]

According to Sherdog, Bisping will next fight the winner of Henderson vs Franklin. It's rather amusing that Henderson vs Franklin is at 205 but the winner will fight for what is very likely to be no 1. contender fight at 185.

[aubtin]

Eklund-Schiavo was a good fight. Sammy looked strong in the first but Eklund's quality on the ground was the difference.

I really enjoyed Bielkheden vs Liaudin. Bielkheden looked strong and his shoot was working well, though I suppose the weakest part of Jess' game is his wrestling. Bielkheden showed some nice ground and pound too.

Miller was just a really difficult opponent for Baron, I thought it was a very enjoyable fight though.

Hardy-Gono was a very, very, close fight. I'm a big Dan Hardy fan but I actually gave it to Gono, I thought he was countering with the cleaner shots, Dan was more aggressive but less accurate. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

I thought Paul Taylor was on the end of a poor decision.

I haven't seen Etim-Stout yet.

The rest of the main card was bollocks.

[seese]

Sweden - France 2-0

[seese]

And the main card was pretty bad.

[EckY]

I was there live, had a good time, wasnt the best event I have been to but still some interesting fights. Most annoying part of the night was when my friend, who has the alcohol tolerance of a 8 year old indian girl, even though he is practically an alcoholic, decided to go out for a cigarette when he could barely stand up staight, which resulted in him being thrown out of the arena after getting into a heated exchange with one of the less than friendly (fe)male door staff.

I sat around for about 45 mins until I pieced together what had happened and spent the rest of the night explaining who every one was and what was going on to the people sitting beside me who had apparently overheard me talking to my friend during the prelims, and realised I knew more than the "punch his fucking face" guys that were sitting in my row.

Also I agree about there not being many bad seats in the arena, I was sitting lower tier in row K and the view was excellent, only cost £100 too.

[machsaku]

If the UFC started using Yellow cards, it would solve some of these problems.


i would love to see yellow cards in the UFC.

[( o Y o )]

Goldberg blows.

Bisping,....while not saving the night, handlily outscored Leben, but it looked like F-level-wannabe-backyard K-1 to me for the most part....

[Chewbaca Joe]

I continue to be glad that I didn't watch this one.

[Lord Gaul]

UFC 89 did 2.6 million viewers. This crapy card did 2.6. I have to face facts, I get on people for calling MMA UFC fighting, but with the state of things its accurate. I finally give up. Everything not UFC sucks. I am defeated in MMA.

[K-1 Extremist]

UFC 89 did 2.6 million viewers. This crapy card did 2.6. I have to face facts, I get on people for calling MMA UFC fighting, but with the state of things its accurate. I finally give up. Everything not UFC sucks. I am defeated in MMA.

Now go suck Dana off because you just gave him a written BJ with this statement... DON'T GIVE UP YET! Strikeforce is still alive.

[heckyl]

strikeforce will remain alive, too. they are the only new ones promoting their shows with a brain.

[ilostmydog]

UFC 89 did 2.6 million viewers. This crapy card did 2.6. I have to face facts, I get on people for calling MMA UFC fighting, but with the state of things its accurate. I finally give up. Everything not UFC sucks. I am defeated in MMA.

I don't get why you would think this is/was a crappy card. Certainly the fights didn't turn out well at all, but for a "hardcore" fan, this show was fine (I'll qualify that and say 'on paper'). The matchmaking, for the most part, was highly intriguing. The only thing that was lacking were "big name" fighters, but I would think that would be more perturbing to those with only a casual interest in the sport rather than someone highly involved in it.

[heckyl]

I don't get why you would think this is/was a crappy card. Certainly the fights didn't turn out well at all, but for a "hardcore" fan, this show was fine. The matchmaking, for the most part, was highly intriguing. The only thing that was lacking were "big name" fighters, but I would think that would be more perturbing to those with only a casual interest in the sport rather than someone highly involved in it.

+1000000000

[Lord Gaul]

Let me clearify. I card that had minumum stars and minumum performances did 2.6 million. I thought that MMA would be helped by other orginazations, but it seems the brand of UFC alone makes it a juggernot in ratings. I think that on the strength of a "FREE UFC card" they made reduculous ratings. In it all my hopes of a league competing enough to get fair wages for the fighters in the long run is gone. I am refering to the sport on the whole when I made the comment I did. This in my opiion was not a strong card, but it seems that the strength of the card doesn't matter. That is what backs my comment. If you feel the card was intriging then that is fine, I am just not as big of MMA fans as you.

K-1 Extemest you of all people should post in that manner towards me. I defended you like crazy when you made rediculous comment after rediculous comment when you got here. I was only joking with the I give up on MMA thing, as you can check my post in the "Elite is Dead" topic. The names I bring up is Strikeforce and ICON. I only used the joke to show the dominance of the UFC brand. I can see it is a boring sports day if you guys were reading into me that much. I thought I would maybe get one post on the joke, instead I am attacked for not apprechiating a lack luster card.

I will recover with this. UFC 90 looks awesome. None UFC MMA rules.

Is that better.

[miscmisc]

Even the UFC isn't perfectly safe, though. Remember, they are based in Las Vegas, which is becoming a ghost town in an old Western movie. I can't imagine the Fertittas not being affected by this. The gambling business is one of the things that will be hit the hardest.

The UFC is very vulnerable now.

[Lord Gaul]

Even the UFC isn't perfectly safe, though. Remember, they are based in Las Vegas, which is becoming a ghost town in an old Western movie. I can't imagine the Fertittas not being affected by this. The gambling business is one of the things that will be hit the hardest.

The UFC is very vulnerable now.

Thats true. I guess I forgot about the economy thing. I know some may say how can you forget, but the fact of the matter is I am so fatigued with all the politics I can't wait to vote and be done with it. I have stopped watchig TV all together and now reley on my netflix for entertaiment. Battlestar Galactica and Carnivale are amazing.

But year getting back on course, The Fertitas have been looking for a buyer before, now they may be looking harder.

[miscmisc]

Thats true. I guess I forgot about the economy thing. I know some may say how can you forget, but the fact of the matter is I am so fatigued with all the politics I can't wait to vote and be done with it. I have stopped watchig TV all together and now reley on my netflix for entertaiment. Battlestar Galactica and Carnivale are amazing.

I don't blame you, LG. The Presidential election in particular has been stupid. I always liked the elections, but this time, I hardly paid attention. The Republicans were already dead when McCain was nominated, and a circus freak like Palin wasn't going to do a shit to change that. Just vote for Obama and be done with it. It's not even the matter of "endorsing" anyone.

But year getting back on course, The Fertitas have been looking for a buyer before, now they may be looking harder.

I don't see any imminent death of the UFC, but the pressure for putting on good successful shows one after another will be much bigger. Maybe they should cut down on the number of Vegas shows as well. The expenses will be less, but in all the other aspects it will be a bad idea to do anything in that city.

[Long Fist]

Business is business ... but if we think MMA as a sport, is certainly not going away or dying.

Why does MMA exist? To explain it with "external" causes, like cultural/social etc changes that led people to develop a need to witness "Human Cockfighting" ) is possible and common, but it misses the fact, that there was an "internal logic" in the world of martial arts that was going in this direction. People who practiced martial arts just wanted to know which style was strongest, what techniques worked against resisting opponents etc.

Even without television, there will be shows and events around the world - guys want to fight! it's a law of nature! in a good sporting spirit, long live that!