UFC 89 took place in Birmingham, England, marking the third UFC event in England for 2008. The event was broadcast on Spike TV with a tape delay. The main event was a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben – the fight that was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 85 but was scratched from that card as Leben was serving a brief jail sentence stemming from a probation violation. The remainder of the televised portion of the card was split up between the welterweight and lightheavyweight divisions, with two matchups in both weight classes.
Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly (170 lbs)
The broadcast began with a welterweight matchup between undefeated Paul Kelly and ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alumnus Marcus Davis, fresh off his first loss in twelve bouts. Davis controlled the action in the first round with superb footwork, staying out of Kelly’s range while landing punches and kicks from the outside. Davis took Kelly down late in the round, and was briefly caught in a guillotine before working out of it and pounding Kelly on the ground. Kelly got back to his feet but still lost the round.
In second round Kelly tried to unload on Davis but once again had a hard time dealing with Marcus’ footwork and finding his target. Kelly slammed Davis with an explosive takedown; Davis responded with a guillotine of his own and Paul Kelly was forced to tap out.
Aftermath: Back on the winning track, Marcus Davis asked to fight on UFC’s upcoming event in Dublin, Ireland in his post-fight interview. Considering how frequently Davis appears on UFC’s European events, his request is virtually a given, and Chris Lytle will be his likely opponent. Paul Kelly was dealt his first professional loss; he too will likely appear on the Dublin card and should face David Baron, who was choked out by Jim Miller on the same night in an untelevised preliminary bout.
Fight grade: 3/5
Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor (170 lbs)
This fight was a slug-fest for the entire three rounds, though both fighters seemed gassed halfway through the second, Lytle more so than his opponent. Taylor had gotten the best of Lytle in standup, rocking him numerous times throught the fight, but Lytle refused to go down and maintained control of the bout by clinching Taylor against the fence and unloading with flurries of hooks as well as an occasional takedown. Both fighters demonstrated significant heart and chin; very close bout that is nearly impossible to call. Taylor landed an inadvertent low blow with a misplaced leg kick in the second round. Lytle ends up on the winning side of a unanimous decision; Taylor and the home town crowd are very upset with the result.
Aftermath: Lytle earns a much-needed win, bringing his UFC record to 5-8. He asks to face Marcus Davis next – and there is no reason for this fight between two former professional boxers not to happen. Taylor is dealt his third UFC loss in the last four bouts, but with a very close decision and a spirited showing he is certain to be back in the Octagon, likely in an untelevised bout the next time around. Both fighters earn a $40,000 bonus for the official ‘Fight of the Night’.
Fight grade: 3/5
Luis Arthur Cane vs. Rameu Thierry Sokoudjou (205 lbs)
In the first of the night’s two lightheavyweight fights, Sokoudjou played counterstriker in the first round as Cane steadily moved forward. Rameu attacked Cane with powerful kicks to the body & head, as well as uppercuts. Cane blocked most of Sokoudjou’s strikes and kept advancing. Sokoudjou attempted a trip takedown but Cane shrugged it off. Cane had a very low punch output, seemingly looking for an opening but did not find one until the end of the round, when he landed a big body kick of his own followed by a big left hand. Sokoudjou wins the first round but is looking winded by the end of the stanza.
In the second, Cane accidentally landed a kick to Sokoudjou’s groin, temporarily halting the action. Cane kept advancing; Sokoudjou threw several kicks but has slowed down a lot from the first round. Cane began to land more strikes; he rocked Sokoudjou with a knee then dropped him with a left cross. Cane jumped on top of his opponent and landed a number of strikes. Sokoudjou was not out and was still covering up but unable to improve his position and the ref stopped the bout.
Aftermath: A big win for Cane propels him to the ranks of 205-lbs elite. A matchup with tonight’s other lightheavyweight winner Keith Jardine seems like a logical next step. Sokoudjou is exposed as a mostly one-dimensional fighter. A fight between Thierry and Houston Alexander has been talked about for a while; now would be a good time for this fight to happen.
Fight grade: 4/5
Brandon Vera vs. Keith Jardine (205 lbs)
Jardine was aggressive early on, taking Vera down to start off the first round. Jardine was cut on top of his head; it was not clear what caused the cut. Jardine was unable to do any damage from within Vera’s guard and the ref brought the fight back to the feet. Towards the end of the round, Vera briefly knocked Keith down with an uppercut but Jardine popped right back up and dropped Vera in return. Jardine finished the round strong, unloading on a rocked Brandon against the fence.
The next two rounds were somewhat lackluster. Vera won the second with a kick to the knee of Jardine, followed by a takedown. Jardine admitted in the post-fight interview that the knee kick took him out for most of the round. The third round was very close, and Jardine ends up the winner of a split decision.
Aftermath: Another disappointing loss for Vera makes it his third in the last four fights, and he has looked less than impressive in both outings as a lightheavyweight. He needs a win in a major way, and there are plenty of matchups available for him in the bottom half of UFC’s 205 division. He should be matched up with James Irvin as that is one fight that is highly unlikely to go to a decision. Jardine should take on Cane in his next bout.
Fight grade: 3/5
Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben (185 lbs)
Leben started the fight out very methodically, working body and leg kicks, but reverted to his usual brawling style late in the first round. While Leben was advancing and looking to land a knockout blow, Bisping utilized his reach advantage and footwork to stay out of the range of most of Leben’s strikes. Leben landed a low kick to Bisping’s groin in the second round – making it the third unintentional low blow of the night, with all three happening in a very similar fashion. Bisping repeatedly scored on Leben with quick counters, and by the end of the night there was visible damage on Leben’s face. Bisping wins every round in similar fashion, despite Leben being the aggressor. Bisping wins a unanimous decision.
Aftermath: Michael Bisping admitted in the post-fight interview that he was trying to go for a decision win. He also claimed he is not ready for a title shot – that much should be obvious. He is slated to be a coach on the next season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK’ and will face off with the opposing coach at the end of the show (Team US will be coached by the winner of upcoming bout between Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin). Leben soldiers on as a quasi-gatekeeper of the middleweight division.
Fight grade: 3/5
Though it was a solid event, every matchup with the exception of Sokoudjou vs. Cane left something to be desired. Decent for a free event on Spike TV, but lacking fireworks.