UFC 89 Results & Recap
by Robert Sargent
A night filled with decisions culminated with hometown favourite Michael "The Count" Bisping defeating Chris "The Crippler" Leben at UFC 89, while "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine and Luis "Banha" Cane were victorious in light heavyweight action.
The undercard was dominated by upsets, as Jim Miller and Terry Etim both picked up victories, while Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy defeated "The Japanese Sensation" Akihiro Gono.
Michael "The Count" Bisping vs Chris "The Crippler" Leben
Though neither fighter was able to get the knockout that they'd been looking for, both fighters stayed true to their word and kept the fight standing for most of the duration, with Bisping's superior technique doing enough to allow him to emerge with a victory that was closer than the scores suggested.Leben opened up round one with a series of leg kicks and was clearly the aggressor. Leben caught a kick from Bisping and narrowly missed a big left hook. Bisping landed a quick one-two combination as Leben looked for a body kick, and both fighters landed strikes in the clinch. Leben continued to press forward with kicks and punches, but Bisping countered with crisp strikes and partially landed a head kick. Leben began to bleed from the nose, as Bisping's counterpunches started to add up, and Bisping landed a pair of quick combinations. Leben moved forward and landed a trio of big lefts. Bisping landed a solid right late in the round, but Leben immediately countered with a left hook. Leben landed a haymaker just before the bell and Bisping scored a last-second takedown. A very close round.
Leben continued to press forward in round two, but slipped while throwing a kick. He immediately got up and landed a looping left hook, and the fighters clinched. A punch from Bisping opened a cut below Leben's right eye, but Leben remained the aggressor. Bisping landed counterpunches and stuffed a brief takedown attempt from Leben, while Leben came in with another big left hook. Time was briefly called after Bisping was kicked in the groin, and the fighters went back to throwing punches. Leben landed the more damaging strikes, while Bisping continued to counter and use knees in the clinch. A left hook landed for Leben, but a follow-up uppercut missed. Bisping landed a hard knee to the body, but it was Leben who landed the big punches in the final 30 seconds, as he sent Bisping off-balance twice. Another very close round.
Leben opened up round three with kicks, then landed an overhand left. He landed a stiff leg kick and Bisping immediately countered with a kick to the body. Both fighters landed punches and Leben continued to push the pace, though he seemed to be more tired than Bisping. Another overhand left landed for Leben, and he followed it up with a body kick. Bisping scored with a pair of leg kicks and Leben secured a takedown. Bisping squirmed back to his feet, but ate some punches on the way up. Bisping landed an uppercut as Leben moved in and the fighters clinched briefly against the cage. He landed another hard right cross, but Leben countered with a big left hook and walked forward with his hands down for the final 10 seconds. Another close round, and all three rounds seemed to close enough to warrant a Split Decision.
The judges disagreed, seeing the fight solely in Bisping's favour, but all three rounds were incredibly close and Leben's stock should remain high. Bisping will now face the winner of Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin at UFC 93.
Winner: Michael Bisping by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 17-1-0.
"The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine vs Brandon "The Truth" Vera
In a must-win battle for both fighters, Jardine did enough to emerge with a Split Decision victory, while Vera's plummet from stardom continued.Vera landed an early body kick, but was promptly taken down by Jardine. Elbows from Vera opened up a bad cut on the top of Jardine's head and he looked for a Kimura on Jardine's left arm. Vera let it go and Jardine landed elbows from the top. After another minute of strikes from Jardine, the fight was brought back to the feet and the fighters clinched briefly. Vera landed kicks to the body and legs, and Jardine scored with a right hook. Vera caught Jardine with an uppercut late in the round, which sent Jardine to the ground, but Jardine got up and promptly dropped Vera with a glancing right. Jardine pounced on Vera and landed numerous strikes as Vera attempted to get back to his feet, and the bell sounded to end the round. 10-9 Jardine.
Vera landed a leg kick early in round two, and Jardine countered with an overhand right. After a kick to the knee by Vera, the fighters traded strikes and Vera scored with a left cross. Jardine looked for a takedown, but went for a body shot instead. Vera got Jardine down and landed two knees to the body, but Jardine got back to his feet. Little happened for the next two minutes, as neither fighter could land any damaging strikes, and Jardine pressed forward with wild punches. Vera landed a series of kicks to the legs and body, and Jardine lunged forward with more wild shots. Another body kick landed for Vera before the bell. 10-9 Vera.
Jardine landed a quick combination to begin the third round, and Vera countered with a leg kick and a left hook. Vera scored with kicks to the legs and body, and now seemed to be the aggressor. Jardine caught a kick from Vera and landed a solid kick to the body, then followed it up with two punches. Jardine came forward with a combination and the crowd began to grow restless. He threw a series of kicks, then tried for a takedown, but Vera remained on his feet. Jardine landed punches in the clinch and took Vera's back. More kicks landed for Jardine, and the fighters traded punches. Jardine pressed ahead with a wild combination, then landed a series of hard punches just before the bell. 10-9 Jardine.
Winner: Keith Jardine by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 14-4-1.
Luis "Banha" Cane vs "The African Assassin" Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
After surviving the early onslaught from Sokoudjou, Cane came back strong in round two and eventually dropped the former PRIDE star with a left hook for a TKO victory.Sokoudjou landed kicks to the legs and body early on, then followed up a one-two with a jumping kick to the body. Another punch and kick combination landed for Sokoudjou and he continued to press forward. The fighters traded body kicks and Sokoudjou landed another jumping kick. After kicks to the leg and head, Sokoudjou landed a Superman Punch and a quick combination, but Cane held strong and threw back punches of his own. Big punches to the body and head landed for Sokoudjou, but he began to slow and tire from the frenzied pace. Cane began to score with kicks to the body and lefts to the face, and the final 30 seconds saw neither fighter land any damaging strikes. 10-9 Sokoudjou.
An accidental low blow from Cane resulted in a brief stoppage early in round two, but the fight quickly resumed and Sokoudjou scored with a vicious jumping kick to the body. Cane didn't even flinch, however, and continued to push the pace with punches. Cane began to use head movement to evade punches from Sokoudjou, while landing strikes to the face of the native of Cameroon. Sokoudjou landed a solid kick, but Cane began to land punches at will as Sokoudjou tired out. Cane scored with a jumping knee, then followed it up with another knee and a quick one-two combination that dropped Sokoudjou. After follow-up strikes on the ground, the referee called a stop to the fight, giving Cane a huge victory.
Winner: Luis Cane by TKO (Punches) at 4:12 of round two. He improves to 9-1-0, 1 NC.
Chris "Lights Out" Lytle vs "Relentless" Paul Taylor
In what was easily one of the best fights of 2008, Lytle and Taylor engaged in an all-out striking war, which began with one of the most vicious punching exchanges in recent memory and continued throughout the fight.Both fighters landed huge punches in the opening seconds, with Taylor mixing in kicks as Lytle threw a flurry of haymakers. The fighters clinched and Lytle began striking to the body. After more knees in a clinch, Lytle scored a brief hip toss takedown, then continued to punch Taylor's ribs. Lytle landed more huge punches while Taylor landed quick, crisp combinations. Both fighters landed knees in the clinch, and Taylor scored with a punching combination. Lytle continued to target the body with punches and knees, but Taylor landed another quick flurry. Taylor drilled Lytle with a big right hook just before the bell, but Lytle maintained the clinch. 10-9 Lytle.
Another wild exchange began round two, with each fighter landing big punches and body kicks. Lytle followed up with vicious haymakers, but Taylor stayed on his feet and the fighters clinched. Lytle scored a takedown and looked to move to mount, but Taylor escaped and eventually got to his feet. Lytle went back to throwing big punches, as both fighters continued to throw kicks to the body, and both clinched against the cage once again. Lytle held an advantage in each clinch, but Taylor prevented him from doing any significant damage. The pace began to slow slightly as Lytle tired from throwing haymakers, and time was briefly called after an inadvertent low blow from Taylor. Lytle landed punches and clinched, then looked for a takedown, but Taylor stuffed it and remained on his feet until the bell. 10-9 Lytle in an extremely close round.
Taylor came out throwing kicks to the legs and body early in round three, as Lytle threw big punches to the head and ribs. Lytle rocked Taylor with some looping hooks, then scored with more vicious shots to the ribs as Taylor backed into the cage. Lytle landed body shots in the clinch, but Taylor countered with a quick uppercut and an overhand right. Taylor began to get the better of the striking exchanges as his crisp punches and kicks landed, while Lytle's haymakers missed. Lytle slipped after taking a right hook from Taylor, but managed to score a takedown. Taylor reversed and got back to his feet, then landed a quick combination as Lytle threw more big looping punches. Taylor landed his biggest punches of the fight, rocking Lytle's head back, but Lytle's iron chin kept him going and the bell rang to end the fight. 10-9 Taylor, due to finishing the round strong.
Winner: Chris Lytle by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 26-16-5.
"The Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis vs Paul "Tellys" Kelly
After dominating most of the striking battles in round one, Davis reversed position on the ground in the second round and locked on a fight-ending guillotine choke, handing Kelly his first loss in the process.Davis landed quick combinations of punches early in round one, then used his superior footwork and boxing experience to evade strikes from Kelly. Davis found a home for his jab, as he kept Kelly at a distance and dictated the pace. A solid body kick landed for Davis, and he followed it up with a leg kick. More kicks landed to the body and leg for Davis, as Kelly could not find his rhythm. Davis used a sweep to take Kelly down, then moved to side-control and landed elbows and punches. Kelly reversed position and got back to his feet, but was bleeding from the right ear. Davis landed another leg kick and punches before the bell to easily take the round. 10-9 Davis.
Davis continued to dismantle Kelly's striking in round two; bobbing and weaving to dodge Kelly's punches while landing shots of his own. He followed that with kicks to the legs and body of Kelly, then landed a solid counter left hook. Kelly scored a takedown, but Davis immediately got back to his feet and locked on a guillotine choke. Davis fell back with the choke locked in, and Kelly had no choice but to submit. An impressive win for Davis.
Winner: Marcus Davis by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:16 of round two. He improves to 15-4-0.
Shane Carwin vs Neil "Old Skool" Wain
Continuing his string of early knockout victories, Carwin took Wain down and quickly moved to mount, where he teed off with punches until the referee stopped the fight.Wain got the better of the early striking exchanges, as he landed a trio of hooks that cut Carwin on the bridge of the nose, but Carwin scored a takedown and moved to side-control. He landed elbows and punches from the top, then moved to guard. Wain had no escape and ate a series of punches from Carwin's massive hands. Carwin didn't let up at all and the referee stopped the fight, giving Carwin another impressive stoppage victory.
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO (Punches) at 1:31 of round one. He improves to 10-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy scored the biggest victory of his career as he defeated "The Japanese Sensation" Akihiro Gono by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. Hardy controlled most of the striking exchanges in the fight and prevented Gono from putting him in danger with submissions. Hardy improves to 20-6-0, 1 NC with the win.David Bielkheden defeated Jess "The Joker" Liaudin by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. Bielkheden's takedowns and ground control were the story of the fight, as Liaudin could never manage to secure a submission from the bottom. Bielkheden improves to 13-6-0 with the win.
Terry Etim won a thrilling battle over Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. Etim surprisingly got the better of many of the striking exchanges, using his superior reach advantage, and took Stout down when the opportunity arose. Etim improves to 11-2-0 with the win.
Jim Miller used an array of submissions to finally defeat David Baron by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:19 of round three. Miller controlled the fight throughout, as he had Baron in precarious situations on multiple occasions, and scored a huge victory in the process. Miller improves to 12-1-0 with the win.
Per Eklund defeated Samy "The Dog" Schiavo by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:47 of round three. Eklund started off slowly, as he usually does, but dictated the later stages of the fight before trapping Schiavo in the choke. Eklund improves to 14-3-1 with the win.
In a night filled with upsets and fights going the distance, the English crowd was treated to a number of excellent battles at UFC 89, and the fans in Ireland will have a chance to see more of the same at UFC 93.
