UFC 89: Bisping Beats-Up Leben in UD

British middleweight “Count” Michael Bisping (17-1) dominated “Crippler” Chris Leben(18-5) for a unanimous decision by judges’ scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 once at UFC 89 in Birmingham Saturday night.

“It was a tough fight, don’t get me wrong; but, I felt comfortable all the way through it,” Bisping said after the “W”.  “At no point did I feel really in danger.”

As Leben promised in his pre-fight hype, “Crippler” came out aggressive, landing kicks to Bisping’s body and legs.  But, the Brit caught-on and countered Leben’s low kicks with a 1-2 combo, then a head kick.  Bisping began peppering hard shots to Leben’s head as Leben came forward relentlessly.

In the second round, Leben paired his forward march with wild hay-makers; and, Bisping connected counter right hands like he was getting paid by the punch.  Leben got frustrated with Bisping’s slick boxing and dropped his hands, begging Bisping to slug it out.

“The whole game plans was to do that,” said Bisping.  “I knew he was going to come forward.  Just use my footwork, spin on the left hook, jabs and right hands, and keep picking him apart.”

The accumulation of punches taken and wasted energy throwing hay-makers had taken its toll on Leben by round three.

Leben scored a single-leg takedown and landed a left hand; but, Bisping crawled up the cage and jawed Leben with a straight right.

Leben was knocked out by Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva(22-4) in 49 seconds and isn’t ranked in the division; so, it’s unclear how close Bisping’s win takes him to a title fight.