Bisping Outpoints Leben, Jardine Edges Vera

BIRMINGHAM, England -- With a potential title fight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva on the periphery, UFC 89 co-headliners Michael Bisping and Chris Leben knew exactly what was at stake ahead of their UFC 89 clash Saturday at the National Indoor Arena.

Despite a pre-fight promise of fireworks though, the two warriors served up an interesting rather than explosive affair, resulting in a deserved unanimous verdict for Bisping.

Partisan didn’t quite sum up the atmosphere inside the National, as Bisping (17-1) was predictably greeted with a reception fit for fistic royalty. Leben (18-5) was, for his part, the recipient of a less than stellar welcome from the 10,000 plus in attendance.

In the early going, it was the newly sculpted Leben who made headway and looked the more physically imposing of the two. Working a slow, steady low kick, he displayed constant forward motion, already looking impervious to the sharp counters of the quicker Bisping.

At the halfway point of the first, Bisping began to get on track, scoring with a nice one-two, followed by a leg kick before missing with a superman punch. Bisping eventually found more room to work his sharp counters and actively avoided Leben’s left hand and clubbing hooks. Leben landed the odd left to keep it competitive, but Bisping’s speed edged him out the round.

Bisping kept up his methodical quick-handed countering through round two, though the American marched forward like a solid rock, landing enough punches to keep Bisping wary while absorbing stinging singles and combinations without so much as a backward step. Late in the round, Leben knocked the Englishman off balance on two occasions. The second was even, and a tough round to score.

Leben came out for round three with damage under his left eye, but never faltered from his task through the last five minutes, even baiting Bisping into a takedown late on before inviting the local hero to take some pot shots on his unprotected face just seconds before the bell. Bisping duly obliged and secured his victory beyond any doubt.

Bisping, who will likely coach a UK squad of hopefuls during the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” took two scores of 30-27, and a 29-28 for a passionately received unanimous decision.

“The game plan was about using my speed to go for a unanimous decision win,” said Bisping afterward, who seemed to accomplish his goal to a tee.

A light heavyweight clash between Brandon Vera and Keith Jardine had promised, at the very least, a certain amount of intrigue.

Vera (9-3), a derailed former heavyweight golden boy fresh off of an uninspiring light heavyweight debut victory over Reese Andy, became the latest in a long line of fighters to find the offbeat Jardine (14-4-1) simply too tricky a puzzle, losing a razor tight split verdict in a tepid encounter that could easily have gone the other way.

It’s commonplace to see the Greg Jackson-trained Jardine in stand-up affairs, so it came as a slight surprise to watch him quickly deposit Vera on his back just moments in.

It was Vera, however, who drew first blood, hammering Jardine’s dome with elbows from the bottom before looking for a kimura. Jardine pushed through a momentary stalemate and applied heavy elbows.

Vera escaped and moments later each would briefly taste the canvas -- Jardine from an uppercut and Vera from a right that enabled Jardine to end the first round on top, dropping heavy shots on his turtled foe. The first round went to Jardine.

There was little action of note in the second or third rounds, and the restless card jeered while to pair looked for openings.

It stands to argue that Vera’s edge in accuracy won him both rounds, but the judges disagreed, tabbing Jardine a debatable winner with two scores of 29-28 against the same score for Vera.

Hovering around the light heavyweight title picture in recent years, Jardine has cinched impressive wins over the likes of UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell interspersed with crushing defeats to Houston Alexander and in his last time out, Wanderlei Silva. Though a step closer to a title shot with this latest conquest, the quiet New Mexico resident will have to see how his teammate Rashad Evans fairs against Griffin first.

In more disappointing light heavyweight action, Brazil’s ominous-looking Luis Arthur Cane (9-1) found an explosive end to an otherwise cagey affair, knocking down former Pride fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3) in the second round and finishing him with punches for the TKO at the 4:15 mark.

Both rebounding from disappointing Octagon debuts with knockout victories in their sophomore efforts, the heavy-handed hopefuls looked to establish their respective place in the UFC pecking order. However, Cane and Sokoudjou served up more of a chess match during the first five minutes.

The taller Cane, a southpaw, stalked behind a high guard, while Sokoudjou met him with thumping counters, heavy body kicks and the occasional forward rush. Both had their moments, but Sokoudjou took a slight edge in the first with some rattling body kicks.

The second round was similar, but Cane’s skill gradually unfurled, as he landed a stinging left hand followed up by accurate knees to press the increasingly ragged looking Sokoudjou.

With a little more than four minutes gone, Cane found the shot he’d been looking for, sending Sokoudjou down to the canvas with a left, before following up with at least 15 punches -- all from the left -- to force the referee’s stoppage.

Earlier in the evening, a bout between popular welterweights Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor didn’t disappoint, with the Indiana fireman duly earning an unpopular unanimous decision victory over the local draw with two scores of 29-28 and another strange score of 30-27.

Both men landed thumping punches as they met in the center of the cage and clobbered one another with combinations right off the bat. Lytle (26-16-5) seemed to get the edge in the early exchanges, with Taylor (9-4-1) clearly feeling the weight of the sometimes-pro boxer’s left hook and right hand.

The bout quickly settled into a well-paced blend of clinches, knees, and dirty boxing interspersed with wild trade-offs of heavy punches and kicks.

Lytle, a seasoned veteran of nearly 50 professional fights against some of the best in the game, looked tired from as early as the second round, and it was often will rather than skill that allowed him to close the distance and score takedowns to keep the pressure on his sharp-shooting opponent.

It came as no surprise to see Lytle rattled and reeling from a laser accurate combination followed by a huge, head-jarring blow from Taylor late in the third round, but the senior fighter hung on.

Clearly the fight of the night, both were respectful and complimentary in the post-fight interviews, where Lytle politely called out Marcus Davis in what seems a natural pairing for UFC 93 next January in Dublin.

In another UK vs. USA welterweight encounter, Marcus Davis (15-4) caught Michael Bisping teammate Paul Kelly (7-1) with a guillotine choke 2:16 into the second round.

Davis, stung by a disappointingly lopsided defeat to Mike Swick at UFC 85 last June in London, arrived in Birmingham lighter, leaner and looking to make a statement. In just his second UFC bout, opponent Kelly was undefeated but largely untested at Davis’ level.

In what proved to be a familiar theme throughout the evening, each fighter fought like they had a little too much at stake. They cancelled one another out in a cautious opener where a late takedown by Davis would prove the difference.

Kelly pressed the action in the second, eventually getting a takedown only to fall into a tight guillotine that forced the tapout.

“I shouldn’t have tapped,” said a distraught Kelly afterward.

Davis, who has created a niche for himself overseas as an Irish-American import, was a gracious victor.

“I didn’t want to get too involved -- he was too young and too strong,” said the Maine native of his fourth win across the pond in five appearances.