UFC 120 Bisping vs. Akiyama

UFC 120 Bisping vs. Akiyama Saturday, October 16th, from London, England


The one thing I don't like about free fights is the amount of commercials. I understand they loose a ton of money by making it free so those funds have to be made up for somehow but they always go to break between rounds. I like hearing what each corner has to say to their fighter and if they listen. Obviously not all the fights are aired but here is what I cared to comment on...


Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson - light heavyweight
These two fighters look very lanky for the light heavyweight division. But of course they are both over 6'5". Diabate has a big reach advantage and is 14 years older than Gustafsson at 37. Gustafsson definitely won the first round, he landed a few big punches knocking Diabate to the ground in addition to leg kicks, a big knee, and being able to dominate Diabate on the ground. In the second round Gustafsson is strong again, getting a major takedown. He is able to defend against Diabate's attempt at a left bar and grabs the rear naked choke. He let go of it and lands a few major punches then grabs the choke again. Same thing, he lets go, throws a few punches then the third attempt at the choke. Diabate is finally out of gas and quickly taps. Gustafsson wins by submission via rear naked choke. Another good one from the sidelines talking about Diabate, "He's literally getting beat to the punch" Oh Mike Goldberg and your insightful commentary.


Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne - heavyweight
Yep thats right, the vs. is in green because neither won the fight! How pathetic. I didn't know before watching the Travis Browne's UFC debut was in June 2010 with a first round win against James McSweeny (who I previously showed my dislike for). In the first round, both fighters take their turns going on aggressive spurts but Browne definitely lands a little bit more. He gets some big knees, a few let kicks and some really big punches. Kongo is a huge fighter, his back is literally 3 feet wide, he's a big, ripped up dude. He's more relaxed in the second round and comes out a bit more aggressive. He spends most of the round holding Browns up against the fence throwing knee after knee to the same spot inside of Browne's leg. Browns got a takedown in the last few seconds but I don't think it was enough to steal the round. Third round Kongo really screw things up. He hold Browne's shorts and even after receiving a warning from the ref, Kongo did it again and had a point taken away from him. Just like holding onto the cage, you can't hold on to your opponents shorts. And surprise, Kongo goes right back to grabbing the shorts. Kongo tried to be more aggressive in the last minute and a half but not enough to make up for that lost point. This isn't the first time there has been a no contest but its definitely the first time I have seen a draw. And for such an idiotic reason. I'm actually surprised they didn't give it to Browne, I don't think Kongo did enough to win the third round even if he didn't have that point taken away. 


John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle - welterweight
Pyle is going up against one of the hometown boys. He admits he's used fighting in front of hostile fans and traveling is nothing new to him and he has embraced the role of villain in this fight. 17 of Pyle's 19 wins to this point have come from submission. He had his UFC debut against Rampage in 1999 and had said he will not be a stepping stone in Hathaway's career. Pyle definitely won the first round, nailing Hathaway with some big punches, a nice knee to the body and landing 2 big takedowns. Hathaway starts off the second round strong but gets taken down and eats a big elbow that you can hear smack his head against the mat. Pyle gets a mounted triangle, pretty much a triangle with his legs. He has control of one of Hathaway's arms and half of his other ones and just lays on the punches and elbows. Somehow Hathaway survives to the third round. Pyle gets the takedown early in the round and just dominates the rest of the time. Hands down I completely agree, Pyle wins by unanimous decision.


Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Candit - welterweight
Hardy comes out as his usual cocky self. If I liked him more, I may have enjoyed the entrance, he's so confident and that has to be a little bit intimidating to his opponent, especially when he is backed by an entire arena of roaring hometown fans. Condit is 2 years younger with a 2" height and reach advantage. Hardy starts the round with a couple big kicks. Both fighters and working on the distancing, throwing a few punches and kicks. It seems pretty even then BOOM, just over 4 minutes into the first round both fighters go for the left hook and that 2" reach advantage definitely plays a role as Condit's connects square on Hardy's jaw and knocks him right to the ground. He jumps on top and lands one more big punch and Hardy is OUT COLD! The replay is amazing, its like something you see choreographed in movies, both guys throwing the right then immediately with the left and Condit is just that much better. Condit wins by knockout!! I do have to mention one thing that did annoy me, Condit did look like a bit of a weirdo trying to constantly show the sponsor on the front of his mouth guard, just sayin. Hardy talks a lot of trash but he's usually a pretty graceful loser, no change tonight, when Joe asked him what went wrong he simply says "I got punched in the face". I don't hate Hardy, I just always seem to like his opponents more. 


Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama - middleweight
You can tell the difference in the two fighters personalities with the entrance music. While Akiyama chooses a slow song that reminds me of the water fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Bisping chooses Wohoo by Blur... Even though Bisping is 4" taller he only has a 0.5" reach advantage on Akiyama. The first round is pretty even, both fighter throwing strong kicks and punches and it ends with a flying knee from Bisping. Akiyama end the second round with some quick punches but until that point Bisping had been dominated the action. Third round Bisping gets some big kick and a lot of solid punches. It almost seems like Akiyama is looking for the one big punch, he's not throwing nearly as many punches as he did in the first two rounds. He's holding his hands lower, he's slower, its like he already knows he's lost. No surprise, Bisping wins unanimous decision. 


The night could have ended after the Condit Hardy fight and I would have been thoroughly impressed. And I was actually right on all the fights this time. Well, kind of, if Kongo wasn't such a dummy he would have won the decision. Overall a great night of fights. No surprise Condit was awarded knockout of the night. He is definitely going to go up in his UFC rankings, its not like he just beat anyone, Hardy just had a title shot, thats a big win for Condit. I'm excited to see his next fight.