UFC 89 Summary...

I'm just going to summarize my opinion of this event in one statement...

I'm glad I didn't have to pay for this as a PPV...

(with that being said, I did greatly enjoy my Indiana boy, and friend of TLOS, Chris "Lights Out" Lytle getting another big victory)

I was pretty happy about that also. I was disappointed in one thing. I picked the correct outcome in my "fantasy MMA" league for the main event and I changed it after listening to the show and getting hyped up for Lebon. I should have stayed with the boring Brit by decision.

I don't think Bisping is boring at all. He's beautiful to watch from a technical standpoint

i dont think bisping is too technical. his chin looked damn good though...

and lytle really shouldnt have won. but my GOD they both had insane chins and kelly never looked phased or drained... geesh. great fight.

sucked seeing vera lose...

i hate seeing split decisions. gono lost one on the undercard which sucks.

luiz cane. man. that guy is going to be a star, just wait. his only loss is a DQ. so really, we have FOUR big undefeated LHWs in Rashad, Thiago Silva, Machida, and Cane. they should tourney it out.

Ya, I am a HUGE fan of technical fighting. I come from the background of a serious boxing fan. Before the UFC came out I was very into boxing. There was never a Tuesday night fight on USA that I ever missed and NEVER missed a pay per view. I loved a long war that went all the way and was a back and forth fight.

I even, like I ranted in another forum, LOVE the OLD OLD UFC where there is no time limit and no rounds and they were just wrestling forever until someone gave up or tapped out. I LOVE Technical fighting...

Bisbane isn't anything to me but a stereotypical European fighter.....he stands straight up. He keeps his head up and his neck stretched up and with his lil fists out just like all the rest of the european type fighters. It reminds me of the old days with Lennox Lewis. Standing straight up and stiff. The Jab is their friend and if that goes bad or someone can get past it, their done. Boring fighters that just wanna get through the fight.

He admitted it himself. He didn't plan on trying to do anything in the fight cept jab and score little points all night until we heard from the Judges.

I don't mind a technical fight but He didn't deserve to win. I knew he would, and by that method, but Lebon pushed the entire fight. I don't believe Michael should have won because he had a good jab while he was running away all night.

If what you say about Bisping's style is true and all he has is his jab (Which is false, hence his being a very well decorated kick boxer) then why didn't leben push to get through more? I don't know what fight everybody else was watching but, even on my second viewing, I'm seeing Bisping do a whole lot more. A real boxer/boxing fan would recognize the fact that using your jab like Bisping did IS a very technical part of the game. It finds the range, keeps the other guy at your distance, tests the water and shows how he's gonna react to a punch. Bisping did say he was trying to win the decision but it wasn't like he was being a boring fighter. He was fighting patiently. If he ever had the chance to finish Leben, he would have. Leben SHOULD be the one criticized for this fight. He didn't show a whole lot. He just kept walking forward and throwing one punch. Every once in a while he'd mix it up but he generally didn't set anything up or throw too good of combos. He was slow. He kept throwing his upper cut without setting it up or throwing a cleaner punch. his hands were low and elbows out even before he started dropping them on purpose and saying "hit me". He did not fight a good fight and I'm a Leben fan. I have been since the TUF days...But Bisping picked him apart. He did everything right in my opinion. HE said he was supposed to have shot more and he wished he had but that would have been stupid too, considering he has no wrestling background and Leben does...

Have you ever seen Leben fight before (besides against Anderson Silva)? That guy has got a chin of friggin' steel! The chances of scoring a knock out against Leben are very slim. Why would Bisping risk losing the fight by going in flailing away to hope for a KO, when he can just stand back and use his reach advantage (which was almost 5 inches I believe) and pick Leben apart for the victory? If Leben had been more pursuiant (like previous Leben fights), then Bisping's game plan may have changed somewhat. I like Bisping as a fighter. He is smart and very clear on what kind of game plan he is bringing into each and every fight. I have liked him since before he won TUF, and despite the tons of people that seem to dislike him, I will continue to follow his career. I think with a couple more fights, he could be the guy that takes over as Middleweight champion... that is, after Silva retires of course.

bisping unloads flurries against non strikers but leben would have won a lytle/kelly style match up more than likely. he has more than a jab. but against leben that's all he needed to use.

and i dont know what you mean stereotypical european fighters... did you SEE paul kelly??? there really aren't many big euro fighters at all. i think that is a HUGE and unrealistic generalization.

but still, i don't think it's too hard to look "technical" against leben... i like leben but he is very easy to hit. i just think if you watch his fight against hammil and watch rich fight hammil you realize bisping isn't as sharp as you guys credit him for. look at the elvis s. fight hah.

I am not saying the a jab isn't a PART of an overall game plan and I am certainly not saying that flailing away is the way to go.

It's just that I AM saying that jabs a PART of the over game plan. I do know the Bisbane a lil bit more than jabbing all night. (I was being over dramatic for emphasis) I just don't think that a boring fight where the guy back peddles all night and only fights when another guy brings it to him, should be won.

Leben although he LOOKED worse, brought the fight all night, he pushed the action, he got him against the cage, he did work. Bisbane did a pretty good job of move away and backing up and avoiding some big punches, but IN MY OPINION he shouldn't have won.

I think back peddling and counterpunching and jabbing all have their place. I just also think that to win a fight on the cards you should effectively do something else.

Paul Kelly fights well, but I was referring to that straight up and down stance that alot of Euros have. Paul had it too, to a certain extent.

Anyway, ya these are my opinions. I didn't like the fight, I thought bisbane was boring as hell and running all night. Don't freak out guys. We all see things differently. It's fine.

I won't be able to answer back for like a week. I got some stuff going on. I will be back on Monday.

Cya after this weekend's fights.

Agreed. The person who wins SHOULD haev done something effectively...Leben did not do anything effective the entire fight, hence, he lost.