“I ripped the cartilage around my rib after the first takedown,” Liaudin said. “By the third I couldn’t move any more and the pain was horrible. It is still painful and uncomfortable as hell.”

Liaudin added, “I won’t be able to do anything for six weeks, so I am done until next year unfortunately. But from what Dana told me, I am not out of the UFC.”

UFC 89 was the lightweight’s third consecutive loss, after winning his first two fights in the promotion.

Bielkheden opened all three rounds scoring a takedown, fighting off omoplatas from Liaudin after takedowns in rounds one and two.

“That was the plan,” Bielkheden said after the fight.  “Take him down and be on top.  I was never worried about his attacks.”

In the first round, Liaudin swept Bielkheden’s second takedown of the round and ended the fight hammering from top position; and, again in round two, Liaudin scrambled to top position after a Bielkheden takedown attempt and ended the round punch from inside Bielkheden’s guard.

But, Bielkheden’s control of where the fight took place kept up his momentum into round three when Bielkheden opened a cut on Liaudian’s forehead with an elbow from top position.

Bielkheden had lost his UFC debut to Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked welterweight “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2) at UFC 82 in Columbus 1 March.

After starting 2-0 in the UFC, Liaudin’s future in the promotion is on thin ice after his third straight loss.

“Count” Michael Bisping (16-1) 185 pounds v “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) 186 pounds

“I’m glad you guys let me into your country,” main event fighter Leben said at Thursday’s press conference.  “I was a little worried on the plane.”

Leben was originally scheduled to fight Bisping in London 7 June, but opted to put to rest legal issues in Oregon stemming from an earlier DUI arrest to ensure a legal UK visa.

But, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Brit Bisping, who told the press, “I am on a quest.  Losing this fight for me is not an option.”

Leben, wearing tight cornrows, chided his opponent, saying, “It seems to me that, when Michael Bisping fights, self-preservation is top on his list.”

A brawl would certainly benefit Leben.  Bisping’s stand-up style is a bit more circle-and-poke, while Leben is happy to plant and throw bombs.

“We’re going to be lettin’em fly!  We’re going to be having fun doin’ it,” Leben promised, which usually means they’ll knock their heads together shooting for takedowns at the opening bell.

But, let’s hope not.

Eighth-ranked “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (13-4-1) 205 pounds v “The Truth” Brandon Vera (9-2) 203 pounds

At the pre-fight press conference Thursday, a very serious Vera turned to Jardine and challenged, “We’re going to be together for 15 minutes in the Octagon and I hope, I hope we get to find out a lot about each other before one of us goes to sleep.”

Jardine agreed, and quipped, “He’s got a real pretty style; and, me, I got a real awkward, real mean style.  So, it’s kind of going to be kind of like a beauty and the beast type thing.”

Jardine is coming off a 36-second knockout loss to seventh-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-81) in May; and, Vera made a disappointing debut at 205-pounds in a unanimous decision “W” over Reese Andy (7-2) in July.

Vera, a former heavyweight, summed up the meaning of the fight: “Me and Keith are both at a point in our career right now where we get either to take one huge step forward or end up taking two or three steps back.”

“Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (14-4) 169 pounds vs. “Tellys” Paul Kelly (7-0) 169 pounds

Davis will try to come back strong from a loss to “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2) in June versus Kelly, who Davis called “a brawler.”

Davis put down the weights for this fight in favor of getting back to his boxing background.

“I’m going to make-up for it in technique and speed.  Being able to fight off angles and stuff like that.  It might look like I’m right in front of him, but I’m actually not going to be right in front of him,” Davis said.

Kelly, of Wolfslair Academy, revealed, “You never know where it’s going to be.  It’s MMA.  You know?  I can’t guarantee I’m going to put Marcus on the mat.  We’ve worked on what we think he’s going to do.”

Ninth-ranked “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-2) 205 pounds v “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) 206 pounds

“Lights Out” Chris Lytle (25-16-5) 170 pounds v “Relentless” Paul Taylor (9-3-1) 170 pounds

Akihiro Gono (28-12-7) 171 pounds v “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (19-6) 169 pounds

Shane Carwin (9-0) 264 pounds v “Old Skool” Neil Wain (4-0) 254 pounds

David Bielkheden (12-6) 156 pounds v “Joker” Jess Liaudin (12-10) 155 pounds

Terry Etim (10-2) 155 pounds v “Hands of Stone” Sam Stout (13-4-1) 155 pounds
 
David Baron (16-2) 155 pounds v Jim Miller (11-1) 155 pounds

“Dog” Samy Schiavo (10-5) 156 pounds v Per Eklund (13-3-1) 156 pounds

Liaudin lost his last two fights, via first-round KO by “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (16-4) in January, then by split decision to Paul Taylor (9-3-1) in June.

In his Octagon debut in March, Bielkheden was submitted via strikes by Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked welterweight “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2).

However, it was UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva who left Nationwide Arena big pimpin’ with a total disclosed payday of $260,000 for his second round submission of “Hollywood” Dan Henderson.

Silva received $70,000 to show, a $70,000 win bonus, a $60,000 Submission of the Night bonus, and a $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus.  Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money!

Henderson received a $60,000 bonus for participating in Fight of the Night.  “The Crippler” Chris Leben received $60,000 for Knockout of the Night in his victory over “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara.

Despite making the PPV broadcast in an non-stop stand-up war, Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett lost out to Silva v Henderson for Fight of the Night.

The entire run-down below:

Andrei Arlovski: $170,000
Anderson Silva: $140,000
Heath Herring: $140,000
Dan Henderson: $100,000
Diego Sanchez: $60,000
Chris Leben: $50,000
Cheick Kongo: $30,000
Yushin Okami: $28,000
Evan Tanner: $25,000
Josh Koscheck: $20,000
Alessio Sakara: $17,000
Luigi Fioravanti: $16,000
Luke Cummo: $16,000
Jorge Gurgel: $14,000
Dustin Hazelett: $12,000
Jake O’Brien: $11,000
David Bielkheden: $8,000
John Halverson: $3,000

The kickboxer from Curitiba vanquished former PRIDE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion “Hollywood” Dan Henderson in a rear naked choke at 4:52 of the second round.

The first round illustrated why Henderson, 22-7, was pegged as Silva’s last great challenge at 185-pounds.

The wrestler from California nixed the champion’s world class stand-up with lateral movement that prevented Silva from setting and delivering his laser-like strikes.

Henderson grabbed hold of the “Spider” and dumped him to the mat in an awkward half guard that allowed “Hollywood” to smother Silva while peppering him with hammer fists.

The frustrated champion endured to the second frame.

In a sloppy Thai clinch, Silva slammed a knee to Henderson’s chiseled chin, causing the the top contender to crumble.

Silva pounced!  A barrage of strikes convinced Henderson to give up his back, the fatal flaw leading to a rear naked choke submission with just eight seconds to spare in the round.

While UFC broadcasters Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan wondered allowed who could challenge the champion, Silva seemed to indicate a third tussle with former UFC Middleweight Champion “Ace” Rich Franklin was due.

In the broadcasted card’s only heavyweight rumble, “The Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring tumbled into a split decision “W” over Cheick Kongo of France.

The Parisian kickboxer insisted on wrestling, to the surprise of everyone including Herring.  Kongo dumped the Texan by force of will, but never capitalized on his advantageous ground positions as Herring consistently swept and reversed into safer territory.

In the end, Herring’s pitter-patter of pounding and Kongo’s cluelessness on the mat served Herring the “W” and a possible rematch with current interim UFC belt holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, whom Herring came within a hair of beating last year.

In untelevised heavyweight action, former UFC titlist “The Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski wrapped-up his current UFC contract and possibly his Octagon career with second round TKO of Jake O’Brien.

Arlovski has openly entertained the idea of quitting the UFC for greener opportunities.

Another pair of middleweights made the PPV broadcast when former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner was knocked silly…er with a knee from the Thai clinch by Yushin Okami.

The fight was Tanner’s first since April 2006 and the vet seemed to gas late into the first round before eating the death blow at 3:00 of the second.

18-4 Chris Leben TKO’d 185-pound newbie “Legionarius” Alessio Sakara of Italy at 3:16 of round one.

“The Crippler” Leben knocked Sakara to his back with a left hook behind the ear, then pounced on the Roman with six unanswered punches before referee Herb Dean waved the affair closed.

Welterweights Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett lit each other up for a round before a Koscheck kick found the button behind Hazelett’s ear a minute into round two.  Koschek pummeled the fallen fighter until the referee called it a TKO for Koscheck.

The PPV opened with the longest three rounds of my life between welterweight contender Jon Fitch and UFC-debuting Chris Wilson of Team Quest.

Wilson spent most of his Octagon initiation on his bicycle while Fitch tried to chase him down.  The judges awarded Fitch a unanimous decision for aggression and superior wrestling positioning.

The rest of the untelevised portion of the card included a unanimous decision  “W” for 12-3 welterweight Luigi Fioravanti over Luke Cummo, who falls to 6-5.

“Nightmare” Diego Sanchez was tossed a bit of red meat in Sweden’s David Bielkheden after dropping two consecutive fights.  Sanchez devoured Bielkheden in a first round strikes submission.

Lightweight Jorge Gurgel took a unanimous decision over John Halverson to improve to 12-3, 3-2 in the Octagon.

 UFC 82 sold out Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.