The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to CotaiArena in Cotai, Macau tonight for UFC Fight Night 48: “Bisping vs Le.” The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between long-time UFC contender Michael “The Count” Bisping and former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le.

Also on the card tonight, Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley took on Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim in a matchup between top welterweight contenders. Lipeng “The Warrior” Zhang faced Brendan “The Badger” O’Reilly in another featured 170-pound bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

 

Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Cung Le

Round 1:
Bisping landed right hands and a body kick early on, but Le answered back with a hook to the body and unorthodox kicks. Le repeatedly kicked at Bisping’s right forearm and Bisping landed a right hand. Le kicked to the body and Bisping mixed things up with punching combinations. Time was called after he was kicked in the groin, but action quickly resumed and Bisping landed some nice kicks of his own. Le stunned him with a right hook and a one-two late in the round, but Bisping fired back with a flurry before the bell. 10-9 Le.

Round 2:
Le landed a hard body kick early in round two, but he was punched in the eye and Bisping rushed in with more punches and high kicks. Le’s right eye closed up and he began to bleed from the nose. Bisping unloaded with punches and Le’s left eye swelled due to a cut beside it. Time was called to check on Le’s eyes and the doctor allowed the fight to continue.

A badly bloodied Le landed a lead right hook that backed Bisping up and he followed with body kicks. Bisping was kicked in the groin again and time was called. The fight continued and Le could barely open his eyes. Bisping pressed the action in the final minute with kicks that mostly came up short, but he landed combinations late in the round. 10-9 Bisping.

Round 3:
Bisping threw a head kick early in round three, but Le backed him up with a right hook and a spinning back kick. Bisping responded with a right cross and he avoided another spinning kick from Le. Bisping flurried with punches and Le began to bleed from the face again. More power punches landed for Bisping and Le answered with a liver kick. Bisping remained the aggressor with punches to the head and body in the final 30 seconds, but Le cracked him with a left hook late in the round. 10-9 Bisping.

Round 4:
Bisping countered a body kick with a head kick in round four and he continued to press forward with big punches. A combination backed Le up against the cage and Bisping dropped him with a knee. He followed with more punches on the ground and the referee stopped the fight.

Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 0:57 of round four. He improves to 25-6-0.

 

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley vs Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim

Round 1:
Kim rushed right in with punches and Woodley responded with a knee and a right hand. The fighters clinched and Woodley backed away. He badly rocked Kim with a right hook as Kim attempted a spinning backfist and Kim fell on his face. He rolled over to his back and Woodley landed punches until the fight was stopped.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by TKO (Punches) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 14-3-0.

 

Lipeng “The Juggernaut” Zhang vs Brendan “The Badger” O’Reilly

Round 1:
Zhang landed a nice leg kick early on and O’Reilly responded with a combination. He countered a right hand from Zhang by clinching against the cage. Zhang got him down and worked from the top in half-guard. He looked to pass to side control, but O’Reilly kept him in place. He swept into top position and pinned Zhang against the base of the cage. O’Reilly landed short strikes from Zhang’s guard until the end of the round. 10-9 O’Reilly.

Round 2:
O’Reilly landed a punch-kick combo and shot in for a takedown early in round two. Zhang stuffed it and landed knees to the body. He tripped O’Reilly and took his back, then locked on a body triangle and worked for a rear-naked choke. He nearly got it, but O’Reilly defended and made it to the bell. 10-9 Zhang.

Round 3:
Zhang cut O’Reilly’s mouth with punches in the final round and the fighters exchanged knees in the clinch. Zhang took O’Reilly back down and secured back control again. He landed hammerfists from the back and O’Reilly continued to bleed everywhere from his lip. Zhang tried to lock on a rear-naked choke, but the blood made it too slippery and O’Reilly escaped. Zhang threw punches and elbows from back control until the end of the fight. 10-9 Zhang.

Winner: Lipeng Zhang by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 8-7-1.

 

TUF China Featherweight Final

Guangyou “Smasher” Ning vs Jianping “Tiger” Yang

Round 1:
Ning scored an early takedown into side control and worked from the top, but Yang regained full guard and fought back to his feet. Ning kept Yang on the defensive, but little transpired on the feet and the crowd voiced its displeasure. Yang took Ning down very briefly, but Ning stood and landed three hard knees to the body. He landed more knees and wild punches in the final minute. 10-9 Ning.

Round 2:
Ning took Yang back down in the second round and he locked on a tight guillotine choke in a scramble that had Yang in some trouble. Yang appeared to be on the verge of tapping, but he held on and eventually pulled his head free. The fight returned to the feet and Ning kicked to the body. Time was called after Ning was kicked in the groin, but action resumed and the fighters traded punches late in the round. 10-9 Ning.

Round 3:
The final round saw both fighters land leg kicks early on and the crowd once again booed the lack of sustained action. More leg kicks landed for both fighters and Ning began to taunt. He threw combinations as referee Steve Perceval implored the fighters to be more active. Nothing transpired in the final 30 seconds and the crowd showered the cage with boos. 10-10.

Winner: Guangyou Ning by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 4-2-1 and becomes the TUF China Featherweight Winner.

 

Undercard Fights:

– Wang “The Fire Kylin” Sai defeated Danny “The Cheesecake Assassin” Mitchell by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 7-5-1 with the win.

– Alberto “Soldier of God” Mina defeated Shinsho “Animal” Anzai by TKO (Punches) at 4:17 of round one. He improves to 11-0-0 with the win.

– Yuta “Ulka” Sasaki defeated “Stunning” Roland Delorme by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:06 of round one. He improves to 18-1-2 with the win.

– Colby Covington defeated “Smiley” Anying Wang by Submission (Punches) at 4:50 of round one. He improves to 6-0-0 with the win.

– Royston Wee defeated Zhuikui “The Conqueror” Yao by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 4-0-0 with the win.

– Milana Dudieva defeated Elizabeth Phillips by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. She improves to 11-3-0 with the win.