The Weekly Wrap: Oct. 18 - Oct. 24

Michael Bisping passed a big test on Oct. 18 in his native country, winning three rounds decisively over Chris Leben at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England. Bisping captured the crowd, which up to that point was mostly lethargic, and used rope-a-dope punching on Leben as he came forward, opening a gash under Leben’s right eye. Bisping's performance earned a unanimous decision win and elicited soccer-stadium-grade chants from the 9,515 fans at the National Indoor Arena.

Leben, a sentimental favorite coming off a preview special that delved into demons he's battled throughout his life, still came out of the fight with momentum, working the microphone well and getting cheers even in defeat.

Media chatter instantly turned to a title shot for Bisping, now 18-1. The British fighter said he thinks he needs one or two more fights before he's in title contention; UFC President Dana White said he thinks Bisping is about a year's worth of fights way from that. Bisping will coach the United Kingdom team on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which began casting this week and will air in the spring featuring lightweight and welterweight competitors. SpikeTV confirmed to Sherdog.com that the winner of the Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin fight in January will coach the U.S. team in a scenario that will likely set the stage for a fight between Bisping and one of the world's best middleweights.

UFC 89 did a respectable 1.7 rating and 2.6 million viewers, peaking at 3.4 million viewers during Bisping’s fight. The live crowd, which translated into a $1.2 million gate, was less enthusiastic for the other televised scraps on the card. Keith Jardine out-pointed Brandon Vera in a somewhat plodding light heavyweight bout. Vera struggled to put together meaningful combinations against the unorthodox Jardine in a loss that puts Vera in a tough bargaining position with his UFC contract coming due. Dana White said he thought Vera had "lost something" in a post-fight press conference.

Two British fighters faltered on the main card, as Paul Kelly dropped his bout to Marcus Davis via second-round guillotine and Paul Taylor lost a very close decision to Chris Lytle in slugfest that notched both fighters $40,000 for “fight of the night” bonuses. With the payout, Taylor again bolsters his reputation as a magnet for bonus money, having collected “fight of the night” money in prior losses to Kelly and Davis. Luis Arthur Cane continued to impress, absorbing hard kicks from the Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou until landing a knee and left that put down the African in the second round. Cane collected the night's knockout bonus for the performance.

The undercard fights, none of which made television in the United States, proved eventful. Pride veteran Akihiro Gono surprisingly dropped a decision to Brit Dan Hardy, who likely earned a future on the UFC's European roster with the win. Rising heavyweight prospect Shane Carwin continued to roll through the opposition, taking Neil Wain down, achieving mount and dropping punches for a first-round TKO. Former IFL fighter Jim Miller picked up the “submission of the night” bonus with a third-round rear-naked choke win after trapping one of David Baron's arms with his leg. A video of Miller's jiu-jitsu display was posted to UFC.com.

• Junie Allen Browning secured a future in the house in this week's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," defeating Rolando Delgado in his first fight since boozing, instigating and stealing the show two weeks ago. Browning proved scrappy in inviting Delgado, partial to jiu-jitsu, to jab him in the face before pulling ahead in the second round with heavy body shots. Delgado used his reach and knees to take the first round, so the fight went to a third round, where Browning continued to swing en route to securing the split decision win. Browning had difficulty making the 155-pound weight limit, a cut fellow cast member Krzysztof Soszynski wrote should have been easy in his TUF 8 blog on Sherdog.

Browning again embraced his role as instigator, throwing a faux black belt at Delgado during the face-off and spitting on it (he later apologized). The win puts Team Mir up two fights to one, with a light heavyweight fight and more pranks set for next week.

• There was a significant shakeup in the Japanese MMA landscape this week, as Asian Games judo gold medalist Yoshihiro Akiyama was noticeably missing from the kick-off press conference announcing K-1 and Dream’s “Dynamite!!” New Year's Eve spectacular. Akiyama, whose fights routinely draw the highest network television ratings for Dream, is reportedly in talks with both the UFC and Dream's rival promotion, World Victory Road.

Akiyama strangely challenged fellow judo player Hidehiko Yoshida, rival WVR's top name, after his win on a September Dream card. The prospect of the charismatic Akiyama leaving Japan deals a significant blow to the sport's vitality in Japan, where promotions have struggled to create stars that draw audience since the collapse of Pride.

• The next challenge for charismatic Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson was announced this week, as the American Kickboxing Academy rep will make his first defense against UFC, Pride and EliteXC veteran Yves Edwards on Nov. 21 in San Jose, Calif. Edwards is challenging for a belt for the second consecutive fight, having lost an EliteXC title bout to K.J. Noons in June. Edwards is the only man to finish Thomson, which happened back at UFC 49 in 2004 with a hard head kick. Strikeforce "Destruction" will be broadcast live on HD-Net and will also feature Bobby Southworth vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral for the light heavyweight title.

• There were several notes in the cops and courts department this week. EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva had his appeal of a positive drug test denied by the California State Athletic Commission, meaning he will not be eligible to fight until July 25, one year after he was suspended for testing positive for the steroid Boldenone. Silva's representatives argued that an over-the-counter supplement called Novedex was responsible for a false positive. Also, word emerged this week that UFC welterweight Luke Cummo was arrested in New York recently for driving while impaired by drugs, and PRIDE veteran Enson Inoue was arrested in Tokyo for marijuana possession. The marijuana charge may sound innocuous in the West, but is a subject of huge public embarrassment in Japan. Brandon Vera also relayed a story to Sherdog.com about how he was held at gunpoint in his jiu-jitsu coach's home during a foiled robbery attempt less than two weeks before his fight with Keith Jardine.