Posts with the tag "Michael Bisping"

We are starting a new feature here at MMAFeed where we have a back and fourth conversation with two of our contributors. The subject for today, why not Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben?

Ryan - I have said it before, but this is a horrible headline event. At least I can cheer against Michael Bisping. Unfortunately I think Bisping will win this one.

Greg - Ryan, you couldn't be more wrong on this one. This will be a great fight and Chris Leben is going to win this fight. Did you see this guys chin? It would take a Mac Truck to knock this guy out.

Ryan - Ah, poor Greg. You are greatly mistaken if you think Bisping will keep this fight standing. Bisping does like to stand, but with Leben he will take this fight to the ground. As Jason McDonald did to Lebel, Bisping will get this fight to the ground and win by choke.

Greg - You have to be kidding me! There is now way this will ever reach the mat. First of all, Bisping will make the mistake of thinking he can stand with Leben. Second, if Bisping does get into trouble on his feet he has to get around Leben's take down defense.

Ryan - You may be right that Bisping will try and stand with Leben, but eventually this fight will end up on the mat. From there, Bisping has a better ground game. Advantage Bisping.

Greg - Let's be real here, Leben is going balls to the wall and will land that first big punch. From there, it's game over for Bisping. Advantage Leben.

Who do you think makes a better argument?

The good thing about UFC 89 is the match ups. They appear to be pretty even across the board. This should translate into some good fights.

The bad thing about UFC 89 is the headlining fight. Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben, you have to be kidding me! I guess that is why they put this one on Spike instead of PPV. Still, I do have some interest in the fight as I love to root against Bisping. Not to mention that Leben is always intertaining. Still, a main event?

The ugly thing about UFC 89, without a doubt, is the lack of star power. The entire card would be an under card for most events. I am puzzled why the UFC put UFC 89 and UFC 90 so close together. I assume there is a good reason, but this compounds the problem of getting good fighters for both events.

There better be some good fights or this will be a bad showing for the UFC. At least it is free...

OK, in all fairness I started this idea a little while ago and never got around to finishing it until now. So, don't bash me for Travis Lutter not being in the UFC anymore. Also, just because I deem a fighter overrated, that doesn't mean he isn't a good fighter. Overrated means that, in general, fans think the fighter is better than he really is.

Travis Lutter
People remember Lutter because he won The Ultimate Fighter 4. So what? Most of the fighters on the show were headed out of the UFC anyway. I recognized Lutter was a pretender when he didn't make weight in his title shot against Anderson Silva. He did manage to go a couple rounds with the champ, but we all know how that ended. I always here people say how Lutter is so great at submissions, yet he let Rich Franklin escape from his arm bar.
Overrated factor: 6/10

Mike Swick
Swick's fight with Yushin Okami was a eye opener. Swick who usually explodes onto his opponents waited and let the stronger Okami control the fight. Coming into the fight, Swick and won 5 straight fights. The problem is that he had been winning these fights by capitalizing on his opponents mistakes. Swick is a great fighter, I just doubt that he will ever fight in a title match.
Overrated factor: 7/10

Roger Huerta
Don't get me wrong here, Huerta is a great fighter. His success in the UFC is only intensified by his exciting fighting style. Fans remember and like Huerta because he was the first UFC fighter to grace the cover of SI. However, looking at his 6 UFC victories, is there anybody on that list that is also contending for a title? Huerta can quickly get off this list with a win over Kenny Florian.
Overrated factor: 8/10

Tito Ortiz
A UFC legend for sure, Tito Ortiz is always remembered for his early fights in the UFC. Here in lies the problem, most people remember him as he used to be. His fight with Rashad Evans assured me that Ortiz isn't the same fighter he once was. Another sure sign is his lengths between fights, seems like he only fights once a year. The UFC is letting him walk after his next fight, can you say overrated?
Overrated factor: 9/10

Michael Bisping
What is it about Michael Bisping? Seems like everybody thinks he is a true title contender. He did win The Ultimate Fighter 3, but his fight with Rashad Evans should have opened some eyes. The next couple of fights will either legitimize him as a contender or identify him as a fraud.
Overrated factor: 9/10

I am not too excited about the fight between Charles McCarthy and Michael Bisping at UFC 83. It probably has to do with Bisping, I just don't like the guy. It probably goes back to the reality show where he seemed to be an ass most of the show.

Then came the biggest travesty in mixed martial arts. After getting dominated by Matt Hamill for at least two of the three rounds, Bisping was awarded with a split-decision win. If that wasn't bad enough, after the fight Bisping runs his mouth saying how the fight wasn't even close. More props to Hamill for for handling the decision the way he did.

Both fighters were contestants on The Ultimate Fighter, although I must say that I don't remember Charles McCarthy. I guess he was on the fourth season and was eliminated by Pete Sell. That kind of makes me wonder why the UFC has kept this guy around? In any case, I don't expect this to be much of a fight. As much as I would like to see Bisping win, I think he wins by Decision.

According to his blog, Wanderlei Silva is contemplating a move to the middleweight weightclass. Silva would be the latest in a line of fighters to lose and then move weighclasses.

Michael Bisping was the last fighter to move weightclasses. After losing to Rashad Evans, Bisping declared his intentions to move to the middleweight division. He will face Charley McCarthy at UFC 83 in the new weighclass.

Before Bisping, it was Mick Swick. After losing to a bigger and stronger Yushin Okami, Swick moved to the the welterweight division. So far so good for Swick, he was able to defeat Josh Burkman.

So will Silva move weighclasses? He doesn't appear to be ducking the fighters at the light heavyweight division, but instead wants a rematch with Dan Henderson. Still, seems like his loss to Chuck Liddell is the reason he is considering the move.

The true Ultimate Fighter may very well be determined this weekend as one undefeated winner will challenge another. Michael Bisping (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) , aka "The Count," blew through the Ultimate Fighter 3 tournament and destroyed Josh Haynes in the finally. Since then, he has had several close encounters but found his way to victory. This includes a win* over Matt Hamill which I am still protesting. If you haven't seen this fight you can read more about the verdict on MMAJunkie.com.

Rashad Evans (15-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1) is also undefeated and was the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 2. Unlike Bisping, Evans was a constant underdog on TUF due to his relatively small size. In the finally, Evans was able to get a split decision win over Brad Imes. Now, Evans is fighting in the light-heavyweight division and looks better on a fight-by-fight basis. Evans is coming off a draw against Tito Ortiz, which he probably should have won. If Tito hadn't been allowed to grab the fence the first two times, Evans would have gotten him to the ground and won the fight. Score one (or at least a draw) for Tito.

So, where does that leave us? Actually with a great fight against two of the rising stars in the UFC. This is not a headlining event in my opinion, but will sell tickets due to the popularity of TUF. Expect Bisping to start slowly once again and wind up on his back where Evans will do a little ground and pound. Actually, I expect all three rounds to be like this with Evans getting the 30-27 victory. Bisping, prove me wrong.

UFC 78 (11-17-2007 at 10pm ET) may be missing a title fight, but it may be one of the better cards in a while. UFC 78 was originally suppose to feature Tito Ortiz vs Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill, but will now headline Bisping vs. Evans. Here are the main-card bouts:

• Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans
• Thiago Silva vs. Houston Alexander
• Joe Doerksen vs. Ed Herman
• Ryo Chonan vs. Karo Parisyan
• Frank Edgar vs. Spencer Fisher