UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama is officially in the history books, so let's take a look at some of the storylines, based on the results from the UFC's most attended event ever on U.K. soil.
A total of 17,133 patrons packed the O2 arena in London, England, generating £1.6 million (approx. $2.56 million USD), slightly below UFC 75, which brought in $2.7 million USD).
In the main event, hometown hero Michael (The Count) Bisping outstruck K-1 Max 2006 Grand Prix Champion, Yoshihiro (Sexyama) Akiyama. According to FightMetric stats listed on sportsnet.ca, Bisping landed 189 significant strikes to Akiyama's 50.
While the Japanese MMA veteran did tag Bisping early in the first round, he was unable to capitalize on the fact that the Englishman was seriously hurt and just a few strikes away from being finished.
Sexyama stayed in cruise control for the whole bout, minus the few times he heard the claps that signify that there are "10 seconds" left in the round; unfortunately for his fan base, that was the only time he would pick up the pace, putting "The Count" in trouble, more often than not.
As opposed to going too in-depth about Akiyama's performance, I'll simply say that it appears he is simply a shell of his former self. In three UFC bouts, he has performed at a much lower level than what we saw in his K-1 Hero's or Dream days. Where he goes from here, no one but the UFC knows, but it's hard to believe they will slot him anywhere near title contention, and his dream bout vs. Wanderlei Silva is likely never going to happen.
"The Axe Murderer" is whom Bisping called out (again), but he may want to reconsider. If the Brit is working his way towards a title shot, I would suggest he focus his sights on the winner of Demian Maia / Kendall Grove, then perhaps the loser of Nate Marquardt / Yushin Okami. With two more victories over fighters that will likely be ranked higher than him, it would solidify his title shot, and prove he deserves a crack at UFC gold.
The UFC 120 co-main event saw Carlos (The Natural Born) Killer, do what no one has ever done to Dan Hardy before (not even champion Georges St-Pierre): finish "The Outlaw" and he did so in spectacular fashion.
In the final minute of the first round, both welterweights were in the midst of executing the same combination, but it was Condit's that landed flush. It dropped Hardy to the mat -- the byproduct of a brutal left hook -- handing "The Outlaw" his second straight loss inside the octagon.
At the post-fight press conference, Condit made it clear that in the future, if the UFC offered him a bout vs. teammate Georges St-Pierre, he would not decline the contest.
In the meantime, he is looking to avenge one of two losses, suffered at the hands of Martin Kampmann and Jake Shields, respectively. That's a respectable request and wish, but I say the UFC puts him up against Jon Fitch instead.
As for Hardy, I'd like to see him square off against the winner (or loser) of the UFC 124 scrap between Thiago Alves and John Howard.
The rest of the main card saw American Mike Pyle deflate the "hype" balloon that was England's John Hathaway. Hype may be what many are calling Hathaway, but I'm still a firm believer that "The Hitman" will soon be a wrecking machine in the 170-pound weight class. He just needs some more seasoning, experience and he will be a force to be reckoned with. One can just imagine what he and Rory MacDonald would do to one another, once they both reach their full potential.
As for Pyle, he is beginning to come into his own, and finally getting comfortable inside the Octagon. It's been a long time coming for Pyle (and for the many of us that have been following his career since 1999, when he went the distance in his MMA debut vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson). The Xtreme Couture Las Vegas standout has long been considered a stellar welterweight, it's just taken a little longer for the diamond to seep through the coal. His time is now -- he must go for a serious run if he is ever to maximize his true potential.
And it appears this has already happened to Cheick Kongo, who at UFC 120 looked as if he is far removed from his days as a serious contender in the UFC's heavyweight division. Kongo was dominated in the first round by a much bigger, and undefeated, Travis Browne, losing the round 10-9.
He did turn the tables around in the second round, evening out the score on my unofficial scorecards. But his grabbing of Browne's shorts in Round 3, resulting in a point deduction, was a sign that Kongo could no longer deal with the youngster, who was visibly fatigued, even as far back as the end of the first round. With Kongo losing the point on the scorecards, Browne won the round 10-8 in my opinion, making it a 29-27 bout for the American. But not according to the three official judges. They were UNANIMOUS in their decision to score the bout 28-28: mind-baffling to yours truly.
The opening bout of the broadcast saw Claude Patrick defeat James Wilks. As you saw on MMA Connected, and read on sportsnet.ca, I firmly believed that Wilks was only better than Patrick on paper. Inside of the cage, "The Prince's" BJJ transitional and submission game is incredible. I've seen it first-hand, originally way back in 1996, when we both trained at the same gym in Woodbridge, Ontario, as well as on the grappling circuit in our home province of Ontario. Claude's ground game is immaculate, and throughout the years, has developed body and mind that is fine tuned to dominate inside of a cage.
Other notable winners included Alexander Gustafsson, who surprised me when he choked out Cyrille Diabate. Same for Rob Broughton, who I thought was going to fade away vs. Vinicius Quieroz.
Spencer Fisher also had his hand raised in victory, but I was seriously surprised his bout went the distance. I thought he was going to easily handle Kurt Warburton, but it's a testament to just how skilled the Wolfslair Academy lightweight is. I'm hoping the UFC gives him another chance inside the Octagon, as going three rounds in your UFC debut with a seasoned vet like Spencer Fisher is a commendable achievement.
But "another chance" may not be in the cards for Ottawa's Mark (Boots) Holst, who lost his second bout in a row, his debut and his sophomore effort, inside the Octagon.
Holst, a talented, and well-rounded fighter, is a skilled Muay Thai fighter who fell short to England's Paul (Sassangle) Sass via triangle choke in Round 1.
It's no coincidence that the undefeated Sass earned his nickname from his acute ability to triangle choke his training partners and opponents at will. In 10 professional bouts, he has submitted seven with the triangle -- on Saturday night, he made that eight.
