My Take On MMA 10.20.08: Final UFC 89 – Bisping vs. Leben (10.18.08) Thoughts

Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.20.2008

UFC 89 was a free show, but was it worth your time?



WELCOME~!:
Welcome back to another edition of My Take On MMA! The UFC is extra busy right now as they are presenting back-to-back "PPV" events. Saturday we had UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben, a "PPV" event, but on SPIKE for free. That event is being followed this Saturday by the UFC 90 show: The Death of Patrick Cote. This is just the beginning, because we have eight big shows coming up to close out the year.

- 11.5 - WEC: Faber vs. Brown
- 11.8 - EliteXC: Lawler vs. Villasenor II
- 11.15 - UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
- 11.21 - Strikeforce: Destruction

- 12.3 - WEC: Tapia vs Torres
- 12.10 - UFC Fights For The Troops
- 12.13 - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
- 12.27 - UFC 92: Griffin vs. Evans

And the thing is that I bet there will be more added. But we begin right now with the UFC and UFC 89, a show free on Spike TV on tape delay from the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. Would Michael Bisping continue to roll at Middleweight and get closer to a title shot? Could Brandon Vera or Keith Jardine manage to not only win but also look good in doing so? Let's get to work and find out.



Final UFC 89 – Bisping vs. Leben (10.18.08) Thoughts~!:

The Fight: Welterweight Bout: Marcus Davis (19-4) vs. Paul Kelly (8-0):
My Pick: Kelly, Decision
The Result: Marcus Davis via RD2 (2:16) Submission
Final Thoughts: The opening bout of the evening was the undefeated Paul Kelly facing off with a personal favorite of mine, Marcus Davis. Davis had a very tough time out last time he was in the cage. He faced off with Mike Swick and was brutalized over three rounds. It came out after the fight that not only were the cuts giving him fits, but that he had a shoulder injury going into the fight, which limited him. I really wish guys would be a bit smarter going into fights. I appreciate that they want to put on a show and look strong, but if you are injured so badly that it will limit your performance to the degree that the shoulder injury did last time out, then you have to pull out. But that was the last fight, and this is the new. The first round of the fight was a good round, nothing extremely exciting, but a good round that saw Davis dominate on the feet with clean and damaging standup. The takedown helped him as well and he also did solid work on the ground. With Davis up going into the second round, Kelly was the aggressor and was looking to take control of the fight. Unfortunately his aggression was what cost him the fight. Kelly charged in for the takedown, got it but was caught right away with the guillotine. Davis would pull it into full guard, and Kelly had no choice but to tap. Kelly did well here, but Davis was game and completely recovered. He mentioned not only healing from the shoulder injury, but also the operation on his eyes to remove scar tissue. That is a great thing because that was a weakness he had, and it hurt him in the last fight. Now with that taken care of, he has a better chance to succeed. Davis now starts over again and looks to string together some wins to get back into the title hunt.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

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The Fight: Welterweight Bout: Chris Lytle (35-16-4) vs. Paul Taylor (9-3-1):
My Pick: Lytle, SUB, RD1
The Result: Chris Lytle via Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Final Thoughts: For the second straight fight we had a Welterweight battle. The first round was a very good round as both guys decided early that they wanted to stand and bang. Lytle didn't completely dominate the round, but he had the better striking and a good throw. I had him up as we headed into round two. Taylor was able to come back in this round as he dominated the striking game, and Lytle was looking very tired and wanting to just unload with every shot. As I had it even, round three was another close round. Lytle got a takedown and did absolutely nothing with it. Taylor would escape that, worked his striking much better and while it was close, I had it 29-28 for Taylor. But it wouldn't be an MMA event without SOME controversy. I had Taylor winning the fight, but it was close. I was completely shocked that not one judge thought Taylor won, almost as shocked at the 30-27 round for Lytle. There is no way he took all three rounds, and even before the show I had a ton of people asking about the fight, as most felt that Taylor won. Chris Lytle picks up the win he needed, moving to 2-2 in his last four fights. He wants to challenge Davis, which I think would be a good fight, and if Davis can win, it gets him closer to a title shot.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 8.0

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The Fight: Light Heavyweight Bout: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) vs. Luis Cane (9-1):
My Pick: Cane, STRIKES, RD3
The Result: Luis Cane via RD2 (4:15) TKO
Final Thoughts: The Light Heavyweight Division in the UFC has become a division to watch as they have a ton of talent and some guys that should be getting their shot and soon. Sokoudjou came in with a ton of hype, and was 1-1 in his first two UFC fights. Cane was 1-1 in the UFC going into the fight as well, but his loss was a DQ loss; so he hasn't been "defeated" thus far in the UFC. He was looking to make it two in a row in a stacked division. I had discussed in the roundtable that all points go to a Sokoudjou win, but as many in the Roundtable have mentioned Cane could work a smart game plan ala Machida, which could get this into the later rounds. And I thought that is where Sokoudjou would have problems. Sokoudjou was dominating early in the first round, throwing huge leg kicks and very good body shots. But he tired as the round went on as he looked to be throwing full force on everything, and as I thought, he certainly had issues later in the fight. Sokoudjou was tired, breathing through his mouth and standing flatfooted a minute into the second round, and Cane then picked him apart with knees, dropped him after a sweet slap/left combo and then destroyed young Sokoudjou on the ground until it was stopped. I don't know if Sokoudjou has any fights left on his deal, but at this stage I would expect his next fight to be a "loser leaves town" match. November and December will see the WEC Light Heavyweights fighting not only to win their fights, but also to get into the UFC with those divisions being ended in the WEC. I could see one of those guys getting a bout with Sokoudjou in January or so to see who will truly stay. As for Cane, he has looked great thus far in the UFC; but I feel that he needs two-three more wins before receiving a title shot.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.0

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The Fight: Light Heavyweight Bout: Brandon Vera (9-2) vs. Keith Jardine (13-5-1):
My Pick: Jardine, STRIKES, RD1
The Result: Keith Jardine via split decision (29-28 Vera, 29-28 Jardine, 29-28 Jardine)
Final Thoughts: I am very honest when I say that Brandon Vera has NOT impressed me at all since his return to the UFC. He just got by Reese Andy, and didn't look great in doing so. And then there is Jardine, a true enigma and a guy that NEEDED to win here. He beats Forrest, and then gets obliterated by Alexander. He comes back with a win over Liddell and then Silva about puts him in a coma. He is just an odd cat, I mean; he defeats Forrest AND Liddell, a former and the now current champion. But he is on the bubble because of devastating losses to Alexander and Silva. I was not looking forward to the fight; and unfortunately I was right. I just never got into the bout. It wasn't a bad fight, but you would think that two guys that had a lot to fight for would have been doing their best to not only win, but to do so with some urgency. The first round wasn't very pretty, but overall was a good round. Jardine was able to get the takedown and was effective with his offense. He also had the better striking and was off to a good start. But Vera buckled his knee with a kick and hurt Jardine in round two. This round was all Vera as he had the takedown and this time he had the better striking, and I had it tied up going into round 3. Round three seemed bland as neither man showed much aggression. Vera never pushed as he should have, and that lack of aggression and Jardine's striking was just enough to get him the split decision victory. Vera drops to 1-1 as a light heavyweight, but is only 1-3 in his last four fights. Jardine's victory was one he needed as he moves to 3-2 in his last 5-fights. He'll need to stack up some victories if he wants to get near the title shot he desperately wants.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 5.5

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The Fight: Middleweight Bout: Michael Bisping (17-1) vs. Chris Leben (18-4):
My Pick: Bisping, Decision
The Result: Michael Bisping via Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Final Thoughts: So we came to the main event of the evening. Bisping is a staple of these UK events as they are working to make him the face of the UFC in the UK, which is smart marketing. Leben is back from his stint in jail, was in shape and was looking to be a new man. Leben is now a more composed fighter, but still gets very aggressive at times. This allowed Bisping to counter his, land cleaner shots and to do more damage to take the round. Round two proved that Bisping had a game plan, and that he seemed to have Leben figured out. Bisping was completely content with counter striking and picking Leben apart to take another round. Round three displayed an odd end to the fight. Leben did get the takedown and did some decent damage, but Bisping controlled as he did in the second and in the end Leben just gave up and was asking for Bisping to hit him. It was a close round that could have gone either way, but I had it 30-27 for Bisping. Bisping is now 3-0 at Middleweight coming off of the loss to Evans, which is the only official blemish on his record. He stated that he feels he is not ready for the title shot, and I agree. 3-0 is great, but I would like to see another strong victory before he gets the chance. This was a fun main event overall, but not great.
Larry's Enjoyment Index: 7.5

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The Overall:
Best Fight(s): Welterweight Bout: Chris Lytle (35-16-4) vs. Paul Taylor (9-3-1): 8.0
Worst Fight: Light Heavyweight Bout: Brandon Vera (9-2) vs. Keith Jardine (13-5-1): 5.5

Final Thoughts: This wasn't a bad event, but it just wasn't a very good one. The fights we saw were fine, some pretty good, and one that was a cure for insomnia. At the end of the night all I could think was, "Jesus, this show has lasted forever." That's not a good thing. In the end I was VERY glad that this was a fee show, because I would have been very disappointed if I had paid $45 for this.

Show Score: 6.75