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  • UFC Fight Night 84 London live results: Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping

    Welcome to our live coverage of UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping from The O2 Arena in London, England. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s middleweight division as former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva returns from a year-long layoff to take on Michael Bisping in a highly-anticipated fight, and the biggest fight to air on the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass. The co-main event is another bout in the middleweight division as Gegard Mousasi takes on Thales Leites. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 12:45 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.

    Coverage provided by Will Cooling

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 12:45 PM ET/9:45 AM PT)

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- DAVID TEYMUR (3-1, 0-0 UFC) VS. MARTIN SVENSSON (14-5, 0-0 UFC)

    David Teymur knocked out Martin Svensson at one minutes twenty seconds of the 2nd round 

    David Teymur dominated the overwhelming majority of this fight, picking apart a diffident Martin Svensson with a variety of kicks. Particularly effective were those to the body in the first round. Svensson struggled to adjust on the feet and quickly tried to take the fight to the ground. Unfortunately for him his takedown attempts were ineffective and he was reduced to falling onto his back in a desperate attempt to trick his fellow Swede into following him. Unsurprisingly Teymur wasn’t tempted, and even managed some clever kicks to the upper body as Svensson was falling back. The end came when Teymur connected with a high kick early in the second round. He quickly followed up on a stunned opponent to end the fight at 1:20 of the second round. Afterwards he delivered an emotional promo, where after breaking down into tears, he talked about how much the victory meant to him.   

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- TEEMU PACKALEN (7-1, 0-1 UFC) VS. THIBAULT GOUTI (11-0, 0-0 UFC)

    Teemu Packalen submitted Thibault Gouti at twenty-four seconds of the 1st round  

    Very much a blink and you’d miss it fight. In the first exchange, Packalen sneaks in an uppercut on the inside. Gouti never saw it coming and crumpled to the floor. Packalen swarmed all over him with ‘donkey kong’ style hammerfistsm, before taking his back and applying the rear naked choke for the win at 0:24 of the first round. Afterwards Packalen struggled through some stilted exchanges with Dan Hardy in English before cutting what seemed a fiery promo in Finnish. 

    HEAVYWEIGHTS- DANIEL OMIELANCZUK (17-5-1 1 NC, 2-2 UFC) VS. JARJIS DANHO (6-0 1 NC, 0-0 UFC)

    Daniel Omielanczuk defeated Jarjis Danho by majority technical decision 

    Round One

    The fight begun with Jarjis Danho winning the early exchanges, landing some strong punches on the inside. The fight then stalled up against the fence until Daniel Omielanczuk forced the separation. Omielanczuk pushed Danho back with some good kicks and punches of his own, but Danho regrouped to alnd some solid punches. At one point the big Pole seemed to be struggling but Danho didn’t press the advantage. Omielanczuk tries to take the fight to the ground a coupel of times but nothing comes of it. Towards the end of tbhe round they tie up against the fence again, with Danho doing a better job of stying active, working over Omielanczuk’s body.  Danho’s round, 10-9.

    Round Two

    Omielanczuk opens the round with a series of leg kicks, followed by an oblique kick. Both fighters seem very tired. Danho rushes wildly with an overhand right. Danho noticeably slower than in the first round. They have a sloppy grappling exchange after an attempted takedown fails. Omielanczuk lands a good straight right. They trade leg kicks whilst circling each other. They kept off the fence this round but there striking exchanges have been noticably slower and less dramtic. Danho lands a nice right cross. Omielanczuk throws a heavily telegraphed overhand right – very sloppy.

    Danho tries to charge forward but doesn’t have the energy. They exchange in the middle of the Octagon, and either a glancing blow knocks Danho down or he loses his footing. Omielanczuk tries to captialise with ground and pound, but Danho gets to his feet. Omielanczuk lands some good knees but alas before one of them Danho had his hand on the ground. Referee stops the fight to give Danho time to recover from the illegal blow – Omielanczuk believed the stoppage was due to him winning. Danho still doesn’t seem himself after the restart, with Omielanczuk pushing the action, backing up the big Syrian and landing numerous blows. It’s all even going into the final round at 19-19. 

    Round Three 

    They exchange kicks early on with Danho looking more dynamic than his sluggish second round performance. Omielanczuk controlling the distance with leg kicks. Referee is telling to them to up the ante. Danho tries to land a couple of overhand punches, but Omielanczuk blocks them. Danho barrels forward, trying to grab a Muay Thai clinch, and Omielanczuk counters with the most blatant low blow you will ever see. It was literally a punch on the inside to the balls. Danho goes down like he’s been shot, and Omielanczuk tries to capitalise with punches to the head. Danho struggling in the corner and the referee is ultimately forced to bring the doctor in. The fight is waved off.

    Afterwards, Omielanczuk physically gestures to Danho that the problem is in his head not his balls. We go to a technical decision with Daniel Omielanczuk getting the nod by majority decision. 

    LIGHTWEIGHTS- NORMAN PARKE (21-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) VS. RUSTAM KHABILOV (17-3, 3-2 UFC)

    Rustam Khabilov defeated Norman Parke by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    Both men start cautiously, with Norman Parke throwing the jab from range while Rustam Khabilov fights from range. A couple of shots at the body but neither man seems willing to engage. Parke lunges forward with an overhand punch. Khabilov goes for a throw, gets Parke off his feet but the Northern Irishman does a good job of landing on his knees. Parke escapes back to his feet. Parke counters the jab with a overhand right that just grazes Khabilov. Parke lands a good right cross, and once again goes for widly telegraphed overhand punches. Its stuff like that which drives boxing fans nuts, sloppy technique. A short stoppage due to an illegal blow, both men throw kicks that don’t quite connect. Khabilov goes for a takedown, and once again gets Parke up only for the Northern Irishman to land on his knees. Parke maintains position, gets back to his feet and forces the break. A welcome increase in tempo after the sluggish heavyweight fight but not much more happened. In such a low action fight the judges could pick either man but the two takedowns probably make it Khabilov’s, 10-9. 

    Round Two 

    Parke shows aggressive intent at the start of the second round, positively moving forward and backing up Khabilov. He’s however not actually achieving very much of not, with few of his shots landing. Best shots include Parke landing a right hand that seems to startle Khabilov and working over Khabilov’s body and legs with kicks. Alas fundamentally the action in the first four minutes is meaningless, Parke stalking Khabilov, potshotting him at best or missing at worst. Parke deviates from his strategy, attempting to take his opponent down. It’s a decision to engage that is a mistake, with Khabilov countering and finally completing a takedown. He however does nothing from top position despite having a full minute to do so. Given how little he had done in the preceding four minutes that’s not enough to steal the round. It’s all even at 19-19.  

    Round Three 

    We could do with something actually happening in this round. Khabilov is moving forward more in this round, looking to land counter punches. Parke goes forward and actually completes the takedown! He quickly takes Khabilov’s back, and works for the rear-naked choke. Khabilov doing a good job of protecting his neck. Khabilov manages to sit up, Parke readjusts and almost gets the choke applied, only for Khabilov to sweep him and escape. Khabilov then takes Parke down, and starts working over him with half-hearted ground and pound. Khabilov sloppily allows Parke to scoot away from him, but quickly grabs Parke again and slams him down. Khabilov has his back but never threatens with the submission. Very even round where both men got into dominate positions but the proceeded to do nothing. I guess I go with Parke as he had the dominate position for longer and did actually work for a submission, but either man could be judged the winner. And indeed all three judges disagree, giving the fight to Khabilov. 

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- BRAD SCOTT (10-3, 2-2 UFC) VS. KRZYSZTOF JOTKO (16-1, 3-1 UFC)

    Krzysztof Jotko defeated Brad Scott by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    Krzysztof Jotko looking to land kicks to begin with but Brad Scott is doing a good job of blocking them. Not doing quite so well at providing his own offence. Scott now backing Jotko up by moving forward. They trade straight punches to the body. Scott with a high knee. Jotko has a very odd technique, constantly moving his body even when standing still. Scott comes move into the fight as the round goes on, landing more as his hands become looser. He probably does enough to steal a round that had been drifting towards Jotko, stunning his opponent with a solid punch and following up with strong shots up against the fence. 10-9 to Scott. 

    Round Two 

    Jotko tries to impose himself in the early striking exchanges but Scott quickly ties him up against the fence. They separate, and proceed to have a bad kickboxing match, with neither man throwing much let alone landing anything of note. Jotko goes for a takedown after landing a straight punch to the body, but Scott is able to block it. Alas its not a clean separation, with Jotko holding onto the clinch for a prolonged period, without really doing anything. They disengage and Scott resumes walking down Jotko all over the Octagon without ever landing a significant punch. The noteable thing is that neither man is willing to throw a meaningful combination which is reducing their ability to catch their opponent. As I write that Jotko does put some shots together, with a nice sequence that ends with a spinning back fist. I guess that is enough to take the round 19-19. 

    Round Three 

    Jotko comes out with more intent, moving forward and looking to land shots on the inside. Jotko follows a front kick to the body with a straight punch. Jotko lands a low kick after Scott blocked a punch. Jotko looks exhausted, fighting with his mouth open. Jotko lands a clubbing blow to the back of the head that causes Scott to stumble. Jokto starting to look the more impressive, working Scott over with kicks. He stumbles slightly but quickly recovers. Jotko lands a high kick and then follows with a kick to the body. Scott really isn’t being active enough, seemingly content to maintain centre position whilst blocking Jotko’s shots. Jotko actually gets a straight punch through Scott’s defences. Jotko counters a legkick with a takedown that may well win him the fight. Scott tries to get back up but Jotko drags him back down.  Jotko then rests in top position until a couple of big punches at the very end. On my scorecard that was Jotko’s round, and therefore he takes the fight 29-28. All three judges agree, with one judge actually having him ahead on all three rounds. The winner then proceeds to breakout some dance move. 

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- ARNOLD ALLEN (10-1, 1-0 UFC) VS. YAOTZIN MEZA (21-10 1 NC, 2-3 1 NC UFC)

    Arnold Allen defeated Yaotzin Meza by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    Energetic start as both men seek to land up close. Arnold Allen stuns Yaotzin Meza with a straight punch taht connects cleanly. Allen looking the cleaner striker, comfortably landing from range, whilst Meza repeatedly looks to barrell in and land short punches. Meza goes for a takedown, and Allen tries to counter with a trip. Meza blocks, and continues with the takedown attempt. Meza pushes Allen up against the cage, holding there for a prolonged period. Allen reverses the position, and trips Meza to the ground. Meza starts to work for a triangle choke, but Allen is doing a good job of defending. Allend escapes Meza’s guard, stands up, starts kicking the legs of a prone Mesa. The referee forces Meza to stand up. Round closes with Allen landing a left hook. Good, even round. I think Allen did enough to take the round, 10-9.  

    Round Two 

    Meza throws a high kick, Allen evades it, and trips Meza. Allen kicks the legs of the prone Meza, but decides not to go to ground. A  wise call in all likelihood. They mvoe away from the fence, and Allen is using his jab to dominate ring positioning. He connects with a solid straight right. Meza throws a uppercut without success. Meza lands a leg-kick and has to move backwards quickly to prevent Allen connecting with a superman punch. Meza charges in for a takedown but doesn’t get it. Meza claims that he was poked in the eye by Allen during the grappling exchange. Not much happens after the restart with Allen pushing the action without actually connecting with anything until the very end. There he does land a right cross but Meza is able to avoid taking further damange. However on my scorecard is in trouble, as I have Allen winning 20-18. 

    Round Three 

    Allen starts the third round by winning a left hook. Meza blocks a high kick. Meza goes for the takedown, which Allen defends well. The defensive wrestling in British MMA has improved but where British fighters are still week is escaping after a successful brawl. Allen is no exception, needing the referee to separate him from a Meza who had pushed him up against the cage. Allen decides that now he wants the fight to go to the ground, looking to trip Meza. Meza defends and again goes for the takedown. Allen defends the initial shot, but doesn’t separate, and they grapple for an extended period up against the cage. Meza finally gets the takedown but Allen rolls through and gets top position. Allen has Meza’s back but doesn’t do anything with it. Allen defends another takedown attempt from Meza but again lets himself get sucked into a clinch against the cage. Meza goes for another takedown, Allen lands a high knee, and again with up against the cage. Allen now tying Meza up against the cage. And out of nowhere, Allen lights Meza up. He connects with a straight punch, follows up with a kick to the body and then knocks Meza down with wild right-left combinations up against the cage. Meza goes down and is very much saved by the bell. Indeed to begin with it seems like there had been a last-minute knockout, with Meza’s cornerman Benson Henderson remonstrating with the referee. Not being knocked out is alas a distinction without a difference for Meza, as he’s clearly lost the fight. That is indeed the view of all three judges. 

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- SCOTT ASKHAM (13-2, 1-2 UFC) VS. CHRIS DEMPSEY (11-3, 1-2 UFC)

    Scott Askham knocked out Chris Dempsey at XX:XX of the first round

    This was a fun fight. Chris Dempsey is mauling Scott Askham due to the usual reason that Englishmen can’t wrestle. From the very first exchange he’s got Askham on the ground and is working for a submission. The crowd is living and dying with every desperation escape Askham makes, especially as its quickly followed by being taken down quickly. They separated, and Askham lands an overhand right that badly stuns Dempsey. The American is literally dancing in the middle of the Octagon. Askham is then ice-cool, connecting with a perfect high kick to secure the victory. 

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- DAVEY GRANT (9-2, 0-1 UFC) VS. MARLON VERA (7-2-1, 1-1 UFC)

    Davey Grant defeated Marlon Vera by unanimous decision 

    Round One

    Davey Grant is the agressor to begin with, landing several kicks to the body. Vera catches one, and traps Grant in the clinch. Grant escapes, and they trade kicks. Grant lands a particularly good leg kick that caused Vera to wince. Grant catches Vera on the inside with a couple of short punches. Vera drops down to attack Grant’s legs, but is too close to the cage. The referee moves them slightly always from the fence, Grant escapes the leglock and then proceeds to start kicking the hell out of Vera’s legs much to the amusement of the crowd. Vera almost grabs Grant’s legs but the Englishmen escapes. Vera has more luck when he jumps up and takes Grant’s back, securing the rear-naked choke. Grant however escapes, sweeps into top position and ends the round striking from top position.  Grant’s round, 10-9. 

    Round Two 

    There’s the hint of a cut on the top of Grant’s head which soon gushes blood after its clipped by Vera in the opening exchanges. Grant is the aggressor but both men are landing very good shots – including some good kicks to the body. The bigger man, Grant bullies Vera up against the cage, landing several clubbing short-punches. Vera backs away, and Grant takes the fight to the ground. Grant struggles to impose himself, with Vera’s defensive grappling frustraing the Englishman. The referee eventually stands them up due to Vera grabbing the fence. Grant lands a strong kick to the body and then once again takes Vera down. Not sure this is the wisest strategy, Grant is dominating the standup yet doesn’t seem to be able to do anything on the ground with Vera. Grant stands up to kick Vera’s legs and then dives back in to his guard. Another good round for Grant. 20-18

    Round Three   

    Grant follows up some early success on the feet with a strong takdown attempt. Vera seeks to roll with the and end up on top, but Grant is able to counter this. They’re up against the cage, but Grant isn’t really able to do anything due to Vera’s guard. Grant stands up but then decides to dive back in for no reason. Vera trying to go for armbars but doesn’t particularly threaten with them. Vera throwing some elbows off the bottom. Grant isn’t excelling on top, just seeking to throw punches from inside guard rather than improve position. The referee stands them up. Grant immediately looks so much better on the feet, lighting Vera up with solid punches and a good kick to the mid-section. Vera tries to counter with a running high-knee! Grant goes for another takedown (why!) but doesn’t get it. Even exchanges to the end. Another clear ound for Grant who’s won 30-27 on my scorecard.

    All three judges score it 30-26 for Grant due to a Vera having been deducted a point due to grabbing the fence in the third round. 

    FEATHERWEIGHTS- MIKE WILKINSON (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. MAKWAN AMIRKHANI (12-2, 2-0 UFC)

    Makwan Amirkhani defeated Mike Wilkinson by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    This rivalry has become increasingly heated over the past week, especially after their controntation yesterday at the weigh-ins. They quickly go to ground, with Wilkinson trying to secure a submission from the bottom. Even grappling exchanges with Wilkinson’s guard doing a good job of keeping Amirkhani quiet. Amirkhani stands up, only to dive back in with a punch. Amirkhani escapes the guard, and moves to side control. He briefly moves to mount but Wilkinson hip escapes back to guard. This has been quite a good technical grappling exchange but Amirkhani seems to be getting frurstated as he just starts throwing big punches from the top. Wilkinson briefly threatens with the armbar towards the end but Amirkhani’s round. 10-9 to Mr Finland

    Round Two

    Amirkhani starts the round with a bang, landing a great jumping knee. He immediately gets Wilkinson back on the ground, working over him in side control. Once again he looks to trap the arm of Wilkinson, so giving the Englishman the chance to escape back to his feet. It’s then Wilkinson’s turn to take the fight to the ground, securing a great choke that very nearly steals the fight from the hitherto dominate Finn. Amirkhani escapes only to almost succumb to a guillotine. He escapes that, assumes top position and quickly moves. Wilkinson does a good job of stifling him. Wilkinson with elbows from the bottom. Amirkhani gets to his feet and kicks Wilkinson’s legs, but quickly gets back on top. Very fun round. Amirkhani has the 20-18 advantage and Wilkinson will need to do something special to avoid defeat. 

    Round Three 

    Both men look tired after what has been a very fast paced ten minutes. They quickly end up back on the ground, with Amirkhani once again looking to push the action from top position. They briefly get up, Amirkhani lands a straight punch and takes Wilkinson down, but in the scramble its the Englishman who secures control. Wilkinson looking to push the advantage, landing good shots from top position. Not threatening with any submissions however. Amirkhani sweeps Wilkinson, stands-up, tries to hit Wilkinson as he stands-up, Wilkinson then trips him down and tries to him on the way down. Wilkinson on top, in half guard. Wilkinson connecting with some elbows and punches from the top. Amirkhani again reverse position, pushing Wilkinson onto his back, and quickly moving to the mount. Amirkhani rides out the remaining thirty seconds, despite Wilkinson best attempts to buck him. At one point, Wilkinson even tries to choke him from the bottom! Good end to what was a very fun fight. That round could have gone to either man but the fight was clearly Amirkhani’s. All three judges agree, with Mr. Finland getting the decision on all three judges’ scorecards, with one judging giving him all three rounds. 

    MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT)

    BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#15) FRANCISCO RIVERA (11-5 1 NC, 4-4 1 NC UFC) VS. BRAD PICKETT (24-11, 4-6 UFC)

    Brad Pickett defeated Francisco Rivera by split decision

    Round One

    Brad Pickett looking to keep it tidy in the early exchanges, leading with his jab and keeping his guard high. They exchanges leg kicks. Pickett keeps ducking down as if to throw an overhand punch, but Rivera si doing a good job of keeping his boxing guard high. A couple of jabs from Rivera land. Pickett tries to chase Rivera down but to no avail. Pickett lands a straight punch to the mid-section. Rivera lands a glancing blow and a much more solid high kick. Rivera knocks Pickett down with the type of ‘didn’t see it coming’ short punch on the inside that caused him to lose to Renan Barao in his UFC UK debut. Rivera getting the better of the striking exchanges, causing Pickett’s head to snap back with a jab. Good exhange with Pickett successfully fighting fire with fire although he does still seem to be the less durable of the two men. The fight ends with Pickett trying for a takedown after a GREAT boxing exchange, that some both men landing solid shots. This is such a breath of fresh air after the dearth of quality striking combinations in the undercard. Rivera’s round, 10-9.  

    Round Two

    Rivera gets the better of enough fast exchange of punches, and then lands a solid overhand right. Rivera throws several overhand punches at the slightly shorter Pickett, although none of them quite land. Both men are moving noticeably slower and throwing few punches after their efforts in the first round. Pickett goes for a takedown, gets it, does nothing, decides to stand back up. Fair enough. Rivera lands a good leg kick, then counters Pickett’s leg kick with a straight punch. Rivera lands enough solid punch. This round is there for the taking in the final minute. Both men miss with shots, including a nice spinning back kick from Pickett. Rivera gets a flash takedown but Pickett gets straight back up. Pickett puts together a left-right combination that has Rivera backing and covering up. The follow-up shot lands low, way low, much to Rivera’s discomfort. And the restart a slightly disappointing rond flares back into life, with both men throwing down as the round comes to an end. Yeesh….you really could score that either way. Neither man dominated, but while Pickett got the better takedown, Rivera’s striking was the better of the two. 20-18 to Rivera. Pickett needs the finish on my card. 

    Round Three 

    Pickett goes for the takedown, Rivera drops down to defend. Pickett eventually completes the takedown. Pickett is in side control but Rivera is controlling his head. Pickett pops his head out but Rivera escapes back to guard. The referee stands them up. It would be fair to say that this round has not been as frenetic as the first. Both men are still throwing, but because they’ve stopped putting together combinations they’re landing a lot less. Rivera grabs a kick from Pickett, and punishes him with a couple of quick punches to the head. Rivera gets a quick takedown, but Pickett gets back up quickly. Pickett then slams Rivera to the ground. Pickett moves to side control but his not really doing anything with the position. The fight drifts to an end. That was Pickett’s round but I think he’ll lose the decision. A fun fight even if neither man could maintain the pace set in the first round. 

    And the judges…disagree! All three score the fight 29-28 but two of them give it to Pickett. The swing round must have been the second (will confirm when I see the scorecards later), which was genuinely close with there being a perfectly justifable argument that Pickett’s superior grappling should have counted for more than Rivera’s greater success standing. Pickett collapses to the floor upon hearing the result, saying that if he had lost then he would have retired. He talks about how much the sport means to him and pledged to continue with the win. 

    WELTERWEIGHTS- TOM BREESE (9-0, 2-0 UFC) VS. KEITA NAKAMURA (31-6-2 1 NC, 1-3 UFC)

    Tom Breese defeated Keita Nakamura by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    Tom Breese is a top British prospect. They word in that phrase is ‘British’ as he quickly gets taken down by Keita Nakamura. Breese does nicely escape from the bottom and get to his feet however. Not much happens, with both men seemingly content to pick their spots and let the fight drift. Breese is the much bigger man, and his strikes do seem to have more power than his opponents but at no point was he able to have Nakamura in trouble. Nakamura did seem to startle the Englishman on one occassion and he did get the takedown, so its probably his round. But again, nothing much happened so it was something of a crap shot. 10-9 Nakamura. 

    Round Two 

    The round starts with Breese quickly ending up on his back but again he manages to reverse, this time sweeping into top position. This is the bizarre thing with British fighters, their grappling has generally improved to a high standard but there are still problems with takedown defence. Nakamura ties Breese up, Breese escapes and seeks to improve his position. Nothing much is happening, and I think that says more about Breese’s rather mechnical offensive grappling than Nakamura’s defence. Breese finally sees the opportunity to land some hard punches, but in doing so creates the space for Nakamura to escape from under him. Nakamura seeks to go on the offensive but Breese defends well against what looked like an attempted omoplata. The crowd is losing patience with what has been a bloodless battle. Breese’s round, and so we are all square going into the final round. 

    Round Three 

    This lifeless bout does not pick up with the third round, with the much of the opening exchanges being taken by Nakamura struggling to get Breese to the ground. He finally does so, only for Breese to roll through for a leg-lock. Of course Breese doesn’t actually do anything with the leg-lock, that’d be silly. Nakamura escapes and gains top position. Breese tries to stand up but Nakamura doing a good job of holding him. Breese eventually does escape but they are still entagled in a never-ending, slow-motion scramble that isn’t going anywhere. In fairness, Breese seems to be trying to go for a reverse triangle but it takes so long to apply that Nakamura was never in danager. As for who won the round, I guess that I would say Breese as he ‘threatened’ with two submissions. 

    The judges agree, with all three giving Breese the nod. Indeed two of them gave him all three rounds. Afterwards Breese apologised for his performance, saying that he felt lacked energy and was frustrated about not being more impressive inside the Octagon.   

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#9) GEGARD MOUSASI (37-6-2, 4-3 UFC) VS. (#10) THALES LEITES (25-5, 10-4 UFC)

    Gegard Mousasi defeated Thales Leites by unanimous decision 

    Round One 

    Leites goes immediately for the takedown but Mousasi blocks. They are up against the cage as Leites tries to complete the takedown. Leites successfully pulls Mousasi down, only for Mousasi to end up on top, so Leites has to get back to his knees and try for the takedown again, all without letting go. They finally disengage. The key for Leites is not to be too aggressive, Mousasi is a counter striker with the technique to capitalise on any openings left by rushing in. Mousasi throwing out the jab, some leg kicks from Leites. Leites misses with a wild cross. Leites ducks under a punch, tries for the takedown but Mousasi blocks. Leites as Mousasi up against the cage but can’t get him down. Leites connects with some good counter punches but Mousasi seems unphased. The round ends. I do not envy the judges on that one. Leites tried to do a lot of stuff but succeeded at next to nothing. Mousasi tried hardly anything but successfully passed the very low bar he set himself. Hmmmm…I gues Leites but let’s be honest nothing happenbed. Leites, 10-9. 

    Round Two 

    Mousasi is stalking Leites, although the Brazilian to throw whatever he wants from a safe range, whilst he finds the opening for the perfect punch. This is not the most eye-catching tactic. Leites does not connect with a couple of solid punches but nothing really seems to be working. Leites does go for the takedown but Mousasi easily blocks the attempt. Leites is clearly getting frustrated, restorting to wild crosses and overhand punches in an attempt to force the issue. Mousasi is starting to land more, with his jab proving particularly effective. Well relatively speaking. Leites is increasingly leaving himself open to counters from Mousasi by throwing crosses right in front of him. Mousasi picking the tempo up ever so slightly, landed a normal couple of good straight punches. Leites now noticeably bleeding. Leites tries to charge in but Mousasi evades. Leites tries for the takedown, Mousasi escapes, then Leites tries to goad him into a grappling battle. Mousasi kicks the prone Leites legs – I fear tonight’s agents are overusing that spot.  Mousasi’s round, and it is now 19-19. 

    Round Three 

    Leites again comes forward positively to start the round but somehow ends up on his back with Mousasi on top position. I’m suddenly getting King Mo vs. Mousasi flashbacks. Mousasi lets him up after doing nothing from top position. Mousasi throws out the jab, and then actually puts togther a combination! Leites lands a punch to the mid-section, tries to throw a kick there but Mousasi catches it. Mousasi goes forward to land a straight punch but almost leaves himself open for the takedown. Ooops. Leites actually lands some clubbing blows as an actually fight threatens to break out. Unfortunately his swinging blows leave so much space for Mousasi to counter that Leites is soon forced to fall back. Mousasi gets the takedown, lays on top of Leites and the crowd are not happy. They stay in that position for a full minute until the buzzer goes to tell the fighters to stop fighting. Not sure that’s possible if they never started. Mousasi’s round, making him the winner on my scorecard, 29-28. The judges agree with a couple giving him all three rounds. Mousasi defends himself from the implication that he’s boring, saying that he dominated two rounds and wasn’t going to throw it all way in the last thirty seconds. He then adds that he took risks in his last fight and paid the price. I actually think we all paid the price for being to watch that fight but I take the point.

    MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#5) ANDERSON SILVA (33-6 1 NC, 16-2 1 NC) VS. (#7) MICHAEL BISPING (27-7, 17-7 UFC)

    Michael Bisping defeated Anderson Silva by unanimous decision 

    Any doubt about whether we would have a partisan crowd is quickly dismissed. Thunderous cheers for Michael Bisping are matched by the loud and nearly universal booing of Anderson Silva as he walked to the Octagon. Remember that as the O2 Arena was sold out before Silva was announced as Bisping’s opponent we don’t have the ususal contingent of Brazilian fans. The reaction becomes more mixed as he enters the Octagon but there’s no doubt about it – people want Bisping to maintain his perfect home record and secure the biggest win of his career. 

    Round One 

    Bisping starts positively, following Silva around the Octagon. Silva moving around well, avoids a high kick from Bisping. Silva with a jab. Bisping gets one through as well. Silva moving his hands in front of Bisping to distract him. Silva takes a clean punch from Bisping. Silva lands a leg kick, and then an oblique kick. Bisping misses with a high kick. Bisping lands a jab. Bisping lands a high kick. Silva lands a punch. Silva backs Bisping up against the cage, and seems to start getting loose with his striking but Bisping manages to force him back. Silva puts together a good kicking combination. Silva and Bisping dancing around each other, Silva beckons Bisping to come forward. Silva starting to get cocky. Evades three high kicks from Bisping in quick succession by just moving his head. Silva on the offensive, Bisping clips him with a punch that wobbles him but Silva comes back strong. Too men square off after the round ends. Bisping’s round but Silva starting up the band. 

    Round Two 

    Bisping has Silva up against the cage. Silva is taunting Bisping; Bisping is now Stephen Bonnar throwing punches to a SIlva who is keeping his back rooted to the Octagon cage. Silva smiles at Bisping when he lands a punch. Bisping backs off and tells SIlva to fight properly. Bisping tries to force the issue but Silva responds by dancing in the centre of the Octagon. SIlva charges forward with a straight punch that seems to hurt Bisping. Bisping storms back but can’t land anything. Silva starts dancing in the Octagon again. Lands a good back fist, and then a kick. Bisping tries to land an overhand punch but SIlva counters. Big “Let’s Go Bisping” chant, the home crowd can sense he’s in trouble. Silva moving his head to evade the punches. And then it gets even weirder. Bisping lands a solid punch and knocks Silva on his ass. Bisping goes for the kill but Silva looks surprisingly alert and tries to hit the incoming Brit. It doesn’t work, he’s overwhelmed and does well to not be finished. Bisping’s round, could easily be a 10-8. It’s certainly 20-18 for Bisping. 

    Round Three

    The O2 Arena is buzzing now, they sense the upset victory is on. Nothing of note happens early on as both men keep each other at distance by throwing their jab out. Bisping is doing a good job of not falling back, always looking to come forward. Bisping throws a kick to the body. Bisping throws another kick and Silva catches it. Trips Bisping, throws kicks at his legs. Silva lands a kick of his own. The round ends with Silva picking up steam. He’s throwing with real intent. And then all hell breaks loose. He lands a picture perfect Muay Thai knee either on the buzzer or just after. Bisping goes out like he’s been shot, Silva thinks he’s won, people are all over the Octagon. Silva has to be coaxed off the top of cage. Bisping is deserately put back together whilst the Octagon is clear. Absolutely crazy scenes. If we can accept the knee as legitimate then that’s a possibe 10-8 round to Silva. If its not a legitimate blow then that could easily be Bisping’s round. Let’s split the different and give it to Silva 10-9. That makes it 29-28. 

    Round Four 

    Bisping comes out surprisingly strongly in the fourth, to which Silva responds by kicking him low. We restart. Silva is again standing right in front of Bisping, with his back to the cage, and only moving to evade the punches. He goes mock limp. Silva starting to throw punches at Bisping. Silva’s reflexes even now are so fast, moving his head all over the place to avoid these punches. We’re back in the centre of the Octagon. Kick to the body by Silva. This is getting an increasingly bad tempered fight. Silva complains about being poked in the eye. Doctor takes a look at him. The fight restarts. Bisping lands a clubbing overhand right. Silva lands a kick to the knee. Bisping charges forward and connects. Bisping puts some punches to gether in the corner. Silva goes for a kick but it leaves him off balance. Silva lands an elbow, it hurts Bisping. And at the very end of the fight he connects with a picture perfect Superman punch. This fight is absolutely nuts. Silva’s round, 10-9. The fight is 38-38.

    Round Five 

    This fight is on a knife edge, with either man capable of winning the decision. The question is does Anderson go for the finish earlier than in the previous two rounds. Silva starts with a high kick. Bisping comes in but Silva counters with a right hand. Silva lands another high kick. Silva noticeably more aggressive. Silva with a kick to the mid-section. Silva misses with a wild overhand punch. Ther referee calls the doctor in to take a look at Bisping’s eye. The crowd is going absolutely crazy. Silva misses with a elbow. Bisping threatening with punches and Silva hits him with a front kick square to the face. Bisping is doing remarkably well to not wilt under this bombardment, he’s not taking a single backward step. Bisping is a bloody mess. Bisping goes for a takedown but Silva easily stops it. Silva lands a jab straight to the jaw of Bisping. Bisping lands a punch, Silva spins round with a kick to the mid-section. They go the distance. Incredible fight. 

    I have it 48-47 for Anderson Silva.  You really could have a wide range of scores after all that. What we know is that Silva clearly won the final two rounds 10-9. I feel fairly confident that Bisping won the first round 10-9 too. Its rounds two and three are key. If the knee strike wasn’t a legal blow then that would mean the round could be scored for Bisping. If round two was a 10-8 then Bisping could secure a majority draw even after losing the final three rounds. 

    The judges all give the fight to Bisping 48-47. Hmmmmm, we’ll need to look at the scorecards when they come. Emotional scenes as Bisping embraces his parents and then talks about how much Anderson Silva meant to him. There was some booing of the decision. Bisping talks title shot. Silva does not talk retirement. 

  • SHINE 33 iPPV results: Taylor Made vs. Kimber Lee; next title match made

    Submitted by Craig Russell | The Orpheum, Ybor City, FLA

    Maria Maria over at Kennadi Brinks

    Maria won via a bridging roll up.

    Barbie Hayden over Leah Vaughan

    Spear on the apron on Vaughan by Hayden then a pin by Hayden with her feet on the ropes.

    Andrea w/ April Hunter over Tracy Taylor

    Andrea hit her running death valley driver after Hunter distracted Taylor.

    Luscious Latasha over Mia Yim via countout

    End came when Leva Bates’ masked “groupies” came out and made Mia run to the back. Mia completely trolled “Blue Pants” Bates the entire time from wearing blue pants to using Leva’s moveset and mocking Leva’s thumbs up gesture.

    NWA Women’s Champion Amber Gallows over Thunderkitty

    Gallows won with a bridging backslide pin after Malia Hosaka hits Thunderkitty with a steel chair while the ref was distracted. Hosaka continued to attack Thunderkitty after the match.

    Crazy Mary Dobson over Su Yung w/ April Hunter

    Allysin Kay distracted Yung and Hunter at ringside by taking away Yung’s kendo stick. Dobson pinned Yung after coming over the top rope (some kind of suplex or a split legged moonsault perhaps, the camera man did not catch it cleanly).

    SHINE Tag Team Champions Better Than You (Jamye Jameson and Marti Belle) w/ April Hunter beat Ivelisse and Amanda Rodriguez w/ La Rosa Negra

    Champs retained when Hunter attacked Negra, Ivelisse got distracted, and Better Than You hit a combination spinning side slam and splash on Amanda Rodriguez for the pin.

    Jessica Havok vs Vanessa Kraven – Double DQ

    Both ladies were DQ after they killed refs three times and then had a pull apart brawl afterward.

    SHINE Champion Taylor Made over Kimber Lee

    End came when Lee tried to hit her finisher but Taylor hits/chops Lee in the throat and then hit an Ace Crusher for the clean pin.

    After the match, Valkyrie ganged up on Kimber Lee; Ivelisse, Amanda Rodriguez, and La Rosa Negra made the save. Ivelisse announces that she gets the next title shot against Taylor Made at Mercury Rising in Dallas on Wrestlemania Weekend.

  • NXT Largo, FL, live results: Revival vs. American Alpha in TakeOver preview

    NXT is in Largo tonight for a sold out show. Approximately 250 in attendance.

    Mojo Rawley beat Alexander Wolfe

    People were, in fact, hyped for Mojo. Everyone was cheering and encouraging his antics. Wolfe gets the “wienerschnitzel” chant to mock him, and allows Mojo to taunt him as well. Mojo hit his usual running spots and picked up the win.

    Emma beat Aliyah

    All Emma here, won it with the Emma Lock.

    Levis Valenzuela beat Alex Riley

    Levis hit the windup punch for the win.

    Sami Zayn beat Manny Andrade

    Excellent match that on par with their recent first encounter in Tampa. Everything these two do is crisp and smooth; just brilliant wrestling. This was all what you’d expect: teased dives, a moonsault from Manny into a standing moonsault when Sami rolled back. Zayn hits the Exploder and Helluva Kick for the win.

    The Vaudevillains beat Kenneth Crawford and Patrick Clark

    The Vaudevillains entered to their face music despite being the heels against the fresh new faces of Clark and Crawford. A few athletic hope spots yet it was mostly a showcase for the Vauds.

    Apollo Crews beat Angelo Dawkins

    This was an entertaining match. As per usual, Dawkins was jaw jacking with no one in particular. Apollo snatched his headband to taunt him. Some strong man slow lift spots by Crews, followed by his firy comeback to set up the win with his big slam.

    – Chris Girard in-ring promo. He says he’s been a professional wrestler for 8 years and now he’s an NXT Superstar. He let us know he is the best wrestler here and vows to be champion.

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Nia Jax

    Slow paced match with Nia methodically working over Bayley, save for the ocassional hope spots. Nia used the over the top shoulder breaker, The Rock’s old finisher. At one point, Bayley ended up on Nia’s shoulders in the doomsday position and was able to roll forward to the mat and win via roll up.

    NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival beat American Alpha

    This was a good tune up for the NXT Dallas show. They did all the expected spots and of course, they built to a Jason Jordan hot tag. He ran wild, dropped the straps, took care of both men, and set up the assisted German suplex on Dash. But, Dawson held Gable’s feet from the outside which allowed Dash to fall on Gable and steal the pin.

    Post-match, the entire locker room met The Revival in the entrance way, threw them back in the ring, surrounded the ring and pounded on the mat while the two teams had an intense staredown and brawl that finished with stereo ankle locks applied by Jordan and Gable. The locker room left as American Alpha celebrated.

  • Bellator 150 live results: Cheick Kongo vs Vinicius Spartan

    Bellator 150 is live on Spike TV from the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas. There’s a good mix of familiar names and up and coming prospects on the five fight main card. Action gets underway at 9 pm eastern.

    Women’s Flyweights Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova (10-3) vs “Ruthless” Rebecca  Ruth (5-1)

    The ladies kick off the festivities! Big John is your referee. This opened up as a real slugfest with both ladies landing hard shots right off the bat. Lena got a takedown 1:30 in and right into side control with a choke but Ruth escaped and swept into side control herself. Lena working for a head triangle from the bottom. Ruth landing knees to the body as Lena tries to get to her feet. Lena to her feet at 4:00 but Ruth still controlling her in a clinch. Separation at 4:30 and Ruth unloaded with a punch combo and then right back to a clinch. 10-9 Ruth

    Ruth slipped early in round 2 and Lena pounced on her but Ruth quickly up. Both ladies landing punches and kicks again early and then Ruth took Lena down 45 seconds in. Lena up quickly. Ruth cut on the forehead. Ruth knocked Lena down with a punch but didn’t go right to the mat with her, giving her a chance to get up. Cage clinch at 2:00 with Ruth in control. Ruth landing punches to the head from the clinch and then they separate at 3:00. Ruth with a body punch combo at 3:15. Lena bleeding from the nose. Ruth landing more punches and stalking Lena around the cage. Lena is staggering from punches but still on her feet. Lena answers back with a punch combo of her own at 4:00. Spinning back fist by Lena misses and she slips. Ruth follows her to the ground and working for an armbar. Lena gets top position but Ruth still with the arm cinched. Bell saves Lena. 10-9 Ruth, 20-18

    Lena is the signee that Bellator was trumpeting but Ruth stealing the spotlight from her. Announcers putting over Lena’s heart though in staying in this fight that she’s being dominated in. Ruth with a takedown 45 seconds in. Announcers point out that all of Ruth’s wins have been by submission as she works for a sub from her back. Ruth landing elbows to the head as she moves into side control though. Ruth takes Lena’s back as she tries to make her way to her feet and every time Lena even gets to her knees, Ruth drags her right back down. Lena to her feet at 2:45 and Ruth takes her down with a judo throw. Cut on Ruth’s forehead bleeding heavily now but she’s still controlling Ruth and keeping her on the mat. Ruth holding Lena down with a rolling half-nelson at 3:45. Lena still looking for a submission but Ruth active enough on top that it would be difficult. At 4:30, Ruth stood up, forcing Lena to her feet. Awesome visual at Ruth’s hair is wildly all over the place as she presses forward with punches and takes Lena down just before the bell. 10-9 Ruth, 30-27. Last round could arguably be a 10-8

    WINNER – REBECCA RUTH (6-1) by unanimous decision. Scores 29-28 x 2; 30-27

    Ruth got promo time. She thanked  her family, friends and God and put over the USA. Her kids were at ringside and she said that missing some of her kids games and practices are worthwhile when you work hard and get a win like this. Very good promo and she came off pretty likeable. 

    Bellator is all about their “special announcements” and we’ve got one coming up later tonight as it pertains to the middleweight title and Champion Rafael Carvalho. 

    Featherweights Gaston Reyna (5-0) vs Chuka Willis (6-2)

    Willis is just 22 but Reyna is a finisher with his 5 pro fights going a total of 11 minutes. Willis is also the local guy. Rob Hinds is the 3rd man in the cage. Willis initiates a cage clinch early. Sean Grande on commentary says this is a fight they’ve been trying to put together for a couple of years on the regional circuit and it was only bumped to the main card when the original main event was cancelled. Willis briefly takes Reyna down but he gets up. Willis still controlling him in a clinch. Reyna with a trip takedown but Willis right up. They separate at 2:30. Reyna threatening Willis with kicks and keeping him at a distance  but Willis shoots in and takes him down. Reyna with a guillotine on the way down though. Reyna also with a body triangle and Willis loses his mouthpiece while still in the choke. Willis out and in top position. Willis with back mount at 4:30 as the guillotine attempt may have tired Reyna out. Close round, 10-9 Willis

    Willis knocks Reyna down with a punch 30 seconds in and follows him to the mat but Reyna up quickly. Willis holding him against the cage and lands some knees to the body, including one that looked a little low. Takedown by Willis at 1:15. Reyna cut on the side of his head, which apparently happened in the first round. Reyna to his feet at 1:45. Ref breaks it up as apparently Reyna hit a low blow but the announcers didn’t really explain it. Willis holding Reyna against the cage on the restart but Reyna getting a chance to recover from that knockdown. Reyna with a standing guillotine attempt at 2:45 but lets it go quickly. They are promising a live interview with Royce Gracie later  tonight. Reyna with a spin kick to the body landing right before the bell. 10-9 Willis, 20-18 overall

    Jimmy has it 1 round a piece, which is certainly possible. Willis with a takedown 30 seconds in and takes his back on the ground but Reyna gets to his feet  quickly. Willis holding him against the cage like he did most of the 2nd round. Ref warns them to improve their position at 1:30. Willis gets him back  down at 2:00 and lands some punches to the head. Reyna up again fairly quickly but Willis still controlling him against the cage. The announcers discussed the new weight-cutting policy and how it would favor Willis, who cuts more weight. They get warned again for lack of action at 3:30. He finally breaks them up at 4:00. Reyna coming forward but Willis catches him with a punch. Reyna initiates a cage clinch, which is kind of stupid  since he needs a finish. Willis gets control at 4:45. Brief separation and Reyna firing out with a punch combo. Reyna going for a guillotine standing as the round ends. 10-9 Willis, 30-27 overall

    WINNER – CHUKA WILLIS (7-2) by unanimous decision; scores 29-28, 30-27 x 2

    The announced after this fight that Rafael Carvalho will defend the Middleweight title the week after their next tentpole event against Melvin Manhoef. Pat Curran will take on Georgi Karakhanyan in the co-main on that card on May 20th. 

    Middleweights Kendall Grove (22-15) vs Francisco France (13-3-1)

    Rob Hinds gets the dukes for this one. France keeping his distance early as Grove has a huge reach advantage at 6 ft 6. The winner here could be next  in line for the Carvalho-Manhoef winner. France starting to connect with leg kicks and backs Grove up to the cage, initiating a clinch. Grove hits him with a low blow, causing a break. On the restart, France lost his position, which was a mistake by the ref. France lands another hard leg kick and goes back tothe clinch. Grove gets control and lands some foot stomps and knees to the body. Ref warning them to improve at 4:00.  France  gets control at 4:15 and lands knees to the body. Both guys trading punches to the body from the clinch. 10-9 France but very close

    Graove backs up France with punches early and finishes him with ground and pound to get the stoppage.

    WINNER – KENDALL GROVE (23-15) by KO at 35 seconds of Round 2.

    Grove dedicated the win to his brother, who passed away last month. 

    Royce Gracie was interviewed at cageside. Says he tried to get out but Scott Coker pulled him back in. Says there’s no controversy and he beat Ken Shamrock no question, like he did the first two times. They also announced that they will re-air this show next Saturday, which is up against a UFC PPV. Very interesting.

    Lightweights David “Caveman” Rickels (16-4) vs “Super Dooper” Bobby Cooper (12-6)

    Of course they air Rickels’ entrance. Superstar reaction from the crowd. Even louder for his intro. Big John is back again as the third man. One of Cooper’s “noteable wins” is someone named Rome Lindsey. So, ya, this could be a walk for the Caveman. Caveman opens with hard leg kicks. Both guys trading punches at 1:00 and Cooper actually getting the better of it. Caveman initiates a cage clinch at 1:15 but Cooper wrestles away control. Rickels gets separation and unloads with a punch combo before clinching up again. Quick separation. Rickels slips throwing a punch at 2:30 but Cooper lets him back up. Rickels shoots for a takedown but it’s blocked and he eats a hard punch to the head from Cooper. Another cage clinch with Rickels in control. Cooper nails some punches but Rickels with a knee to the body that crumples Cooper. Rickels all over him with ground and pound and Cooper leaking blood like a faucet. McCarthy gave him a bit of time but finally stepped in to stop it.

    WINNER – DAVID RICKELS (17-4) by TKO

    A welterweight bout from the prelims aired next, which saw Andre Fialho move to 6-0 with a 29 second KO of Manny Meraz, who drops to 8-2. Impressive power as Meraz was out with one punch. 

    Main Event –

    Heavyweights Cheick Kongo (23-10-2) vs Vinicius Spartan (8-3)

    Sean Grande mentions that Kongo has fought guys like Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop and Matt Mitrione while making sure to mention that Mitrione is a free agent. At 40, he really has been in there with just about every top name in the division. All of Spartan’s wins have been by stoppage. Big Jiohn gets the main event reffing assignment. Spartan with a huge height and reach advantage, using it to control the cage early. McCarthy warning Spartan to either close his hand or keep his fingers in, as he’s cocked to poke Kongo in the eye if he hits him in the face. Fans booing 1:30 in as nothing much happening. Kongo with a brief bunch flurry at 1:45. Kongo gets it into the centre of the cage where there’s still nothing happening. Kongo connecting with hard leg kicks. Spartan starting to advance again and nails a nice punch combo at 3:15 but Kongo clinches up on the cage. Spartan with a trip takedown at 4:00 but Kongo right up. Kongo continuing to land leg kicks. Spartan’s leg starting to show damage. Spartan nails a spinning back fist that rocks Kongo but he recovers and goes to a cage clinch with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Kongo

    Kongo landing leg kicks early again. Spartan with a hard punch to the head that connects flush 30 seconds in but Kongo shakes it off. Spartan continuing to advance. Kongo starting to mix in punch combos with the leg kicks. Spartan starting to react to each kick. Crowd booing heavily at 2:15 as not much happening in a typical Kongo fight. Kongo blocks a spinning back fist but Spartan takes him down at 2:45. Spartan with body punches while Kongo just tries to hold him in his guard. Ref warning them to work at 3:45. Spartan trying to advance but Kongo defending well. Ref stands them up with 15 seconds left. Very close round, 10-9 Spartan

    Jimmy has Kongo up two rounds. Total strikes are 37-13 for Kongo. Spartan with a takedown 30 seconds in. Spartan trying hard to advance but again, Kongo defending very well and holding him in his guard. Crowd booing again at 1:45. Kongo to his feet at 2:00 and quick separation. Kongo right back to the leg kicks and landing punches that rock Spartan. Kongo with a takedown attempt stuffed by Spartan. Kongo landing knees to the body from the clinch. Ref breaks it up at 3:00. Spartan knocks Kongo down with a punch and follows him to the ground but doesn’t throw many strikes on the ground and Kongo again just holding him there. Ref stands them up with 15 seconds left. 10-9 Spartan, 29-28 overall for him but it depends how you score round 2. Kongo not acting like he thinks he won, while Spartan holding up his hands in a victory pose.

    WINNER – CHEICK KONGO (24-10-2) by split decision; scores 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28. No way Kongo won that third round. 

  • Anderson Silva should still be too good for Michael Bisping

    Simply put, Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping is the biggest fight the UFC has promoted in Britain since 2008.

    In terms of fan anticipation, it may be even bigger than title fights involving BJ Penn or Quinton Jackson as it sees the sport’s greatest ever champion test its greatest British fighter’s record of never having been defeated in his home country. While there may be no gold on the line, the stakes are high. Either man will proceed to further lucrative headlining appearances if they win, while a loss may bring their career to an end.

    I consider myself second to nobody in my admiration for Bisping, but it’s hard to argue against the idea that at his best, Silva would have been too good for Britain’s finest. The former middleweight champion is such a nightmare matchup for “The Count” that predicting his route to victory in such a hypothetical fight becomes next to impossible due to the surplus of options.

    A prime Silva would have dominated the stand-up game due to having greater knockout power, superior striking technique, and more durability. But it’s not just the stand-game where we the Brazilian would have the edge over the Brit. As seen in his fights against Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen, Bisping has the defensive wrestling to stop a takedown but he’s poor at evading or escaping the clinch. And while it’s frustrating to be held upright by a former collegiate wrestler that becomes a lethal weakness against a Muay Thai master. It’s very easy seeing a fight between Silva and Bisping end in a similar fashion to the Brazilian’s second fight against Rich Franklin. And should the fight go to the ground, Silva has the superior grappling skills, and would be favoured to secure the submission.  

    Of course, Silva’s prime was a long time ago and it’s been almost three years since he was dethroned as middleweight champion. That fact has made some people overconfident about Bisping’s chances. The reality is that both men are approaching the end of their careers. Both men are not just older than either Luke Rockhold or Chris Weidman, but have significantly more fights than either man. (Bisping alone has more total fights than Rockhold and Weidman combined.) And both men have had to come back from significant health problems, whether it be Silva’s broken leg or Bisping’s detached retina.

    The question is whether Silva can regain something of the spark that was clearly absent in his fight against Nick Diaz. While the Brazilian won a convincing (and of course tainted) victory, it was a lifeless performance from a man who seemed to be going through the motions. That he couldn’t knock out or even significantly hurt an opponent who was giving up so much size raises questions about the remaining potency of his striking.

    And yet, I still believe that Anderson Silva will win Saturday given that Bisping has stylistic similarities with Diaz. While Bisping is a more traditional kickboxer, he shares with the American the ability to grind down his opponents through volume striking due to superior conditioning. The key difference is that whereas Diaz is always looking to come forward, Bisping often falls back against opponents with significant striking power. Remember that Bisping let a much diminished Wanderlei Silva escape with a victory due to refusing to engage in the pocket. Providing Silva can intimidate Bisping early on, the fight could quickly descend into a long-distance war of attrition that would play to the more precise and illusive Silva’s strengths.

    It’s for that reason that Bisping’s best hope for a victory is that in his time away, Silva has further deteriorated from the diminished fighter we saw at UFC 183. It’s possible, but just as plausible, that Silva took the Diaz fight too soon after his leg surgery and that the past year has given his body and mind chance to fully heal from what he went through.

    Should Silva show up in anything approaching good condition, he will likely end not just Bisping’s undefeated home record but his outstanding hopes of finally receiving a UFC title shot.

    Will Cooling is a freelance writer who writes on combat sports for Fighting Spirit Magazine, pop culture for Geeky Monkey and politics at It Could Be Said! He’ll be covering UFC Fight Night London for Wrestling Observer live from cageside.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (2/26): Verne Gagne wins AWA gold; Memphis throwback night

    1939 

    – Jim Londos is awarded the Maryland version of the World Heavyweight Title by the Maryland State Commission

    1944 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Ed “Strangler” Lewis defeated Rollend Kirchmeyer to win the Florida Heavyweight Title 

    1951 

    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
    – Sky Hi Lee defeated Al Mills to win the Calgary NWA Canadian Heavyweight Title 

    1952 

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Duke Keomuka and Mr. Moto defeated Ray Gunkel and Miguel Guzman for the NWA Texas Tag Team Title 

    1957 

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Guy and Joe Brunetti defeated Ivan and Karol Kalmikoff for the Minneapolis NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1958 

    Mobile, Alabama:
    – Don and Jackie Fargo defeated Lee Fields and Lester Welch to win the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Title 

    1959

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Edouard Carpentier beat Bob Geigel 
    – Dino Bravo and Bob Ellis beat Lee Henning and The Mighty Atlas 
    – Sonny Myers beat Rip Hawk 

    1963

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Crusher beat Hercules Cortez dq
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff beat Moose Evans & Dick Steinborn in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Rocky Hamilton beat Duke Hoffman
    – Jack Pesek beat Stan Kowalski

    1966

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon beat WWA Champion Dick the Bruiser by countout
    – Verne Gagne & Wilbur Snyder beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race dq
    – Chris Markoff beat Guy Mitchell
    – Moose Cholak beat Huey Long
    – The Assassin beat Jose Betancourt
    – Santiago Acosta drew Angelo Poffo

    1967 

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – Verne Gagne won the AWA World Heavyweight Title (on his birthday) by defeating Mad Dog Vachon
    – Ernie Ladd & Earl Maynard beat AWA Tag Team Champions Larry Hennig & Harley Race dq
    – Killer Kowalski beat The Crusher dq
    – Doug Gilbert drew The Alaskan
    – Eddie Sharkey beat George Gadaski
    – Bob Boyer beat Jose Quintero

    1969 

    Mobile, Alabama:
    – Bob Kelly and Ramon Perez defeated Mitsu and Sugi Sito to win the  NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Titles

    1971

    Los Angeles, California:
    – Vivian Vachon defeated Betty Nicoli for the NWA California Women’s Title 

    1973

    Madison Square Garden:
    – AWA World Heavyweight Champion Verne Gagne defeated Eddie Graham (subbing for Ray Stevens)
    – WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales defeated King Curtis Iaukea

    1975

    Miami, Florida:
    – Bob Roop & Mongolian Stomper defeated Dick Slater & Johnny Weaver (sub for Bill Watts) 
    – Harley Race defeated Bob Armstrong 
    – Tony Parisi & Dominic DeNucci & “Irish” Pat Barrett defeated The Patriots & The Red Menace 
    – Mike Graham defeated Jim Dillon by dq
    – Johnny Weaver defeated Randy Tyler by dq
    – Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Jay Clay 

    1976

    Fort Myers, Florida:
    – Florida Tag Titles: Bob Roop & Bob Orton, Jr. defeated Steve Keirn & Mike Graham 
    – Andre The Giant defeated King Curtis 
    – Ft. Myers Championship: Tom Jones (sub for Cyclon Negro) defeated Roger Kirby 
    – Mike Graham & Steve Keirn defeated George McCreary & Rock Hunter 
    – Jerry Brisco defeated Karl Von Steiger 

    1978

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Dick Murdoch defeated Ted DiBiase for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Title 

    1979

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Bill Dundee and Robert Gibson defeated Don Carson and Dennis Condrey to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles

    Wichita, Kansas:
    – Bryan St. John and Randy Alls (Randy Rose) win a tournament for the NWA Central States Tag Team Titles

    1980

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Florida Title: Super Destroyer defeated Manny Fernandez by dq
    – Special Challenge Match: Jack Brisco & Jim Garvin defeated Nikolai Volkoff & Bugsy McGraw 
    – Leroy Brown defeated Jerry Brisco 
    – Twin Devils defeated Hector Guerrero & Terry Taylor 
    – Bryan St. John defeated Bubba Douglas 
    – Geoff Portz & Frank Monte drew Gordon Nelson & Barry Windham

    1981

    Kingston, Ontario, Canada:
    – Angelo (King Kong) Mosca pinned Hossien Arab
    – Mad Dog Vachon and Dewey Robertson beat Bob Duncum and Kurt Von Hess
    – Sweet Ebony Diamond over Swede Hanson on a count out
    – Frankie Maine and Billy Red Lyons went to a draw
    – Tony Parisi pinned Ron Ritchie

    1985

    Tampa, Florida:
    – The PYT Express (Norvell Austin and Koko Ware) defeated Jay and Mark Youngblood for the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles

    1988

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Terry Taylor defeated Matt Borne for the World Class Texas Heavyweight Title

    St. Joseph, Missouri
    – Masahiro Chono defeated Mike George to win the World Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title 

    1990

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Jimmy Valiant defeated Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title 

    1993

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Heavy Metal defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. for the Mexican National Welterweight Title

    Dallas, Texas:
    – The Ebony Experience (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Bad Breed (Axl and Ian Rotten) to win the Global Wrestling Federation Tag 
    Team Titles
    – Calvin Knapp defeated Alex Porteau for the GWF Light Heavyweight Title

    1994

    Portland, Oregon:
    – Colonel DeBeers defeated Bruiser Brian for the Championship Wrestling USA Television Title

    Morristown, Tennessee:
    – Mike Samson defeated Wayne Rogers for the Southern States Wrestling Heavyweight Title 

    1995 

    Knoxville, Tennessee:
    – Bobby Blaze defeated Jerry Lawler to win the SMW Heavyweight Title 

    1997

    Berlin, Germany:
    – Davey Boy Smith pinned Owen Hart to become the first WWF European Champion in a tournament final
    – WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia defeated Vader (with Paul Bearer) by disqualification 
    – Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Bret Hart by disqualification
    – WWF Champion Sycho Sid pinned Mankind (with Paul Bearer)

    1999

    Mexico City, Mexico:
    – Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. defeated Negro Casas and El Hijo del Santo to win the CMLL World Tag Team Titles

    2000

    Cincinnati, Ohio:
    – Tommy Dreamer and Masato Tanaka defeated ECW World Tag Team Champions The Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) to win the titles
    – Sabu defeated Scott D’Amore
    – ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome defeated Rhino to retain the title

    Newark, Delaware:
    – Christopher Daniels defeated Scoot Andrews to win the Super 8 Tournament 

    Los Angeles, California:
    – Chris Candido defeated XPW World Heavyweight Champion Damien Steele in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the title 

    2002

    Boston, Massachusetts:
    – Goldust defeated Maven for the WWF Hardcore Title 

    2005

    Throwback Night: Memphis, Tennessee:
    – In a 14-man tag team match, Bill Dundee, King Mabel, Cory Macklin, Chris Michaels, MW Southern Tag Team Champions Too Cool II (Tim Grind and Flex) and Kevin White defeated Masked Doom, Nicholas Doom, Jamie Dundee, Reggie B. Fine, Jimmy Hart, Jerry Lawler and Mordecai
    – Too Cool II (Tim Grind and Flex) defeated Team Canada (Johnny Devine and Eric Young), when Grind pinned Devine, to win the MW Southern Tag Team Titles
    – Brian Christopher and Shock defeated Kid Kash and Koko B. Ware
    – Kevin White defeated Jamie Dundee by disqualification
    – Bill Dundee pinned Simon Dean
    – Derrick King pinned Johnny Dotson in a loser-leaves-town match
    – Jimmy Hart and Jerry Lawler fought Memphis Wrestling promoter Cory Macklin and King Mabel to a no contest

    2006 

    Dundalk, Maryland:
    – The James Gang (B.G. James & Kip James) defeated MCW Tag Team Champions The Slackers (Chad Austin & Dino Divine) and The Holy Rollers (Earl The Pearl & Rich Myers) in a three-way match to win the titles

    2011

    ROH 9th Anniversary Show: Chicago, Illinois:
    – El Generico defeated Michael Elgin
    – ROH World Title Match/Barrio Streetfight: Roderick Strong defeated Homicide to retain the title
    – ROH World Tag Team Title Match: Kings Of Wrestling defeated All Night Express to retain the titles
    – World TV Title Match, 2/3 Falls with a 30 Minute Time Limit: Christopher Daniels and Eddie Edwards wrestled to a draw
    – Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe

  • UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping weigh-in results and live video

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jQyCP_R398

    Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping weigh-ins from the indigo at The O2 Arena in London, England. The fighters will hit the scale at 11 AM eastern time. The entire card airs on Saturday on UFC Fight Pass. Preliminary card action kicks off at 12:45 PM eastern time leading into the main card, which kicks off at 4 PM eastern time. This will be the Octagon’s first trip to London since UFC Fight Night 38 in March 2013.

    The event is headlined by the biggest fight in the history of UFC Fight Pass as former long-time UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva makes his long-awaited return in his quest to regain the championship when he takes on former TUF winner and long-time contending superstar Michael Bisping in a much-anticipated and heated battle that could determine a potential next challenger at 185 pounds. Also on the card, in the co-main event slot, it will be another middleweight bout between top-ten ranked contenders as Gegard Mousasi takes on Thales Leites, and additional bouts will feature rising prospects that include welterweight Tom Breese and featherweight Makwan Amirkhani, known to fight fans as “Mr. Finland”.

    MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT):
    Anderson Silva (186) vs. Michael Bisping (185)
    Gegard Mousasi (185) vs. Thales Leites (186)
    Tom Breese (171) vs. Keita Nakamura (170)
    Francisco Rivera (136) vs. Brad Pickett (136)

    PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 12:45 PM ET/9:45 AM PT):
    Mike Wilkinson (145) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (145)
    Davey Grant (136) vs. Marlon Vera (135)
    Scott Askham (185) vs. Chris Dempsey (185)
    Arnold Allen (145) vs. Yaotzin Meza (144)
    Brad Scott (186) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (184)
    Norman Parke (155) vs. Rustam Khabilov (155)
    Daniel Omielanczuk (254) vs. Jarjis Danho (261)
    Teemu Packalen (156) vs. Thibault Gouti (155)
    David Teymur (155) vs. Martin Svensson (154)

  • Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles advertised for WWE MSG event

    Don’t hold your breath given changes are made weekly, but I-C champion Kevin Owens vs. A.J. Styles’ first singles match in WWE (at least the first one being advertised) is on the docket for the March 25th MSG house show in NYC, also billed as Daniel Bryan Appreciation Night.

    We incorrectly noted Thursday that the Styles/Owens match would be their first ever. They actually wrestled a singles match in upstate New York a few years ago for the 2CW promotion as well as for the House of Hardcore promotion.

    A new lineup was released Thursday for the show with a number of changes from the original lineup. The new main event has Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. WWE Champion HHH & Sheamus. Originally, HHH was going to be in Sheamus’ corner for a singles match with Reigns.

    Additionally, two other announced matches are U.S. Champion Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio, and Big Show vs. Bray Wyatt. Additionally, Bryan will be there to address the crowd for his Appreciation Night.

  • NXT Orlando, FL, live results: Finn Balor & Bayley vs. Samoa Joe & Nia Jax

    NXT is at the Orlando National Guard Armory tonight in front of a sell out crowd of approximately 400.

    Apollo Crews beat Manny Andrade

    Good match, Manny was the heel tonight and tried to work holds. Traded some athletic rope running and Apollo hit a big dropkick. Manny appeared at Apollo’s level even in defeat. Apollo hit the big spinning slam for the win.

    Liv Morgan and Aliyah beat Peyton Royce and Billie Kay

    The heels got the heat on Aliyah to build the Liv hot tag. She was fired up, hit a lot of running offense of her own, got Aliyah involved and suplexed Aliyah on to the fallen opponent before positioning herself for a standing moonsault for the win. Good showing for Liv Morgan tonight.

    Levis Valenzuela beat Chris Girard

    Girard wore down Levis with his intense and aggressive style. Plenty of holds and growls. Levis wound up and nailed Chris with a Fiesta Fireball punch.

    – In-ring promo with Hugo Knox who was heelish tonight in a stylish suit. Was not dancing tonight.

    American Alpha beat BAMF, The Vaudevillains, and Enzo & Cass

    This was a fatal four way elimination match for the right to face The Revival tomorrow night in Largo. Simon Gotch got the pin Enzo Amore for fall one. Fall two saw Jason Jordan run wild after a hot tag and defeated Alden English to eliminate The Vaudevillains. About a minute later, American Alpha hit the assisted German Suplex on Murphy for the win and the right to face the champions tomorrow night.

    Emma beat Daria

    A couple MMA style comebacks with Daria shooting the legs for takedowns yet this was mostly Emma. She won it with the Emma Lock. After the win re-applied the hold until Asuka made the save. Asuka took care of Emma then checked on Daria.

    Sami Zayn beat Elias Samson

    Crowd was vicious towards The Drifter tonight. Causing him to think on the fly being heckled during his song. Sami got the reaction of the night. Long match, a lot of Drifter rest holds until Sami’s big comeback and win via exploder suplex and jellies kick.

    NXT Champion Finn Balor and NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Samoa Joe and Nia Jax

    Some crisp action from Joe and Finn in spurts to tune up for Dallas. These two are great together, Nia tries to wear down Bayley yet could never quite keep her grounded. At one point in a brilliant spot Nia Jax set up for the People’s Elbow then stopped short and just pulled Bayley up by her hair. Finn got the hot tag and nailed the Bloody Sunday on Joe for the win.

    During the post match celebration Bayley took the mic and asked what “Finn 3:16” means? Finn responded by talking in a shy child voice with “… Finn 3:16 means… May I have this dance?” the lights went low, and Time Of Our Lives started playing, they slow danced at a distance like a middle school prom. Then Bayley went in to the corner, ran towards Finn who lifted her up in the air then back down in to a hug. Everyone was going wild.

  • Feb 29, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Shane McMahon to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania

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