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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben is less than a week away and both fighters are in the process of making their final preparations for what should turn out to be a great night of MMA. This card is being broadcast on Spike TV and I cannot recall seeing a better card advertised for free rather than PPV. Certainly this card doesn't pack the zing of a major PPV but I'd have to say that Bisping vs. Leben could prove to be as good if not remarkably better than Silva vs. Cote of UFC 90 which takes place a week later. At any rate we are off to the races for what is going to be a nice month of fights for the UFC which shall be capped off by the megabout of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91.
Saturday night's lineup is more than solid and while this is a card without title fights it is one which could decide whether some fighters will ever even get the chance to challenge for one. The two main fights will serve to show who is on the way up the ladder and who is merely going to hold the gate open for others to pass. TUF fighters in tough fights; UFC 89 is the next step for these fighters as we find out who is ready to move up to the next level.
Keith Jardine will be taking on Brandon Vera in a very compelling light heavyweight matchup in what is basically the co-main event of sorts for this show. Both men have shown a world of promise and at the same time have only proven to frustrate those who expect so much out of them. Neither man is a force in the light heavyweight division but both are fighting for a chance to toss their name into the hat in hopes of earning a shot against the class of the division. This fight is a crossroads fight as it could firmly establish Jardine as a serviceable gatekeeper, and it could also make it appear that Brandon Vera is just not at the peak of his powers yet. One thing is for sure and that is you don't always have to have a belt on the line for a fight to have meaning. Both fighters need this fight and both fighters can win this fight which is why this is really a sleeper of a match that can easily be lost in the shuffle when compared to all of the amazing matchups we have to look forward to.
Take Brandon "The Truth" Vera, a world class talent who could legimately compete at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. This is a fighter who has beaten Frank Mir, has also gone the distance with Tim Sylvia and is perhaps poised for bigger and better things at the more natural weight of 205 lbs. Then you look at his last fight, an absolute snooze-fest against Reese Andy, and you have to wonder if this was just a bad night or if he is so confident in his natural abilities that perhaps he isn't as driven as a fighter who has maybe more heart than talent. Vera is a highly skilled fighter who appeared to be lazy in his last fight as it really seemed like it took a lot out of him to drop the weight; and maybe he went about cutting the weight improperly.
I truly feel that he didn't lose the weight properly but simply cut down to make weight for the fight and in doing so was simply too weak to really do much against Reese as the fight wore on. Reese Andy is not a horrible fighter but he did absolutely nothing that should have kept Brandon from ending this fight early. Brandon Vera just did not work in this match, and perhaps it was his lack of effort in camp that led to such a poor showing, but this was not the fight a future star needed to fight. It should be a given that Vera will comfortably make the weight limit for this fight, and that he should perhaps be comfortable at the weight which will allow for him to fight the fight he wants against Jardine. Of course, he will not have such a lazy opponent in front of him in the "Dean of Mean" on Saturday night.
Keith Jardine is a gamer who can exceed any and all expectations with one punch thrown. This is the prototypical worker who shows up and gives you his all while expecting nothing to be given that he does not deserve. With victories over Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell on his resume it can be ascertained that you do not sleep on Keith Jardine; and should you face him it would be best to not take him lightly. Now, he has lost to Houston Alexander and Wanderlei Silva; and by lost I mean that he lost all of his senses as his brain was rattled around in his skull due to savage blows being delivered. Jardine has one hell of a beard but not much of a chin, and this is a guy who carries his shield into battle but only seems to use it when it is time to carry him away upon it. All heart, all aggression and one mistake can quickly spell the end for Jardine against any opponent of the world class variety. That being said, I do feel he packs enough of a punch that Brandon Vera is not going to simply walk in and walk over him, but Keith is reckless enough to grant Vera with the opportunity to finish this one off in the first round.
This fight is not going the distance and this could bode well for both men. Jardine can lay you out like a cheap malt liquor and Vera can deliver his fair share of punishment as well, although Vera is decidedly more polished in his attack. Jardine is reckless and strong, as if he is your father with a belt, and Vera is as precise and effective as a mother reaching to slap her kid in the backseat of the car while not losing sight of the road ahead. This will not be a technical battle but it will be a cautious one for both men with what I predict shall be a decisive and early finish.
Vera cannot afford to not work against Jardine and at the same time Jardine cannot fight this one with his chin but rather with his mind and some semblance of a game plan. I believe that Vera should finish this one and come out the victor but I simply cannot count Jardine out. This one has the makings of a very good fight to lead us into the main event.
Chris Leben will be facing off against Michael Bisping in a middleweight battle to prove who the tough guy is rather than just being the guy from TUF. While Bisping is a winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter' it is widely known that most had him losing to Matt Hamill and there are enough questions about Bisping to raise some doubts. Leben made his name for his actions outside of the Octagon on the reality show but aside from a throttling at the hands of Anderson Silva has shown to be so much more than just the hellion we were led to believe he was. Both men are passionate fighters and both are highly skilled fighters who could be in the UFC with or without a televison show to accelerate their progress. This will be the villain against the hero. Chris Leben, the churlish American, ventures into England to take on a man who will be entering the octagon to deafening cheers more suited to a soccer pitch than an arena in the hometown hero, Michael Bisping. I don't see this one going the distance either but I think we are going to be treated to one hell of a fight for however long these two go at it.
Chris Leben is going to be hearing so many boos that one would think he was coming out dressed as a toothbrush in order to garner such a negative reaction from the Brits. Now losing to Anderson Silva is nothing for Leben to be ashamed of and really is of more credit to Silva than it should be taken as a discredit towards Leben. Anderson Silva puts people on their ass like pints in a pub and if you lose to "The Spider" you simply came up short against the world's best, and there is no shame in that.
Now, Leben's loss to Jason MacDonald is also not that terrible of a thing, as MacDonald is a skilled submission expert who happened to catch "The Crippler". MacDonald could catch many of the top guys and gets less credit than he deserves for always being in great shape and able to capitalize on mistakes made. If Leben were to fight Silva tomorrow, one could imagine that the fight may turn out the same as their first but I feel a second fight with MacDonald would favor "The Crippler".
As for Leben's loss to Kalib Starnes? This was a poor decision by the judges and this was Leben's fight all the way save for a few brief moments in which Starnes mounted an offense. Bisping received a gift of a decision against Matt Hamill but in the case of Leben it was to be his opponent getting the lucky nod. This fight is significant for being the last time Kalib Starnes put up a fight as his most recent outing against Nate Quarry was more of an ad for New Balance than it was for MMA.
From reports I have read to photos I have seen, I can firmly state that Chris Leben is in the best shape of his fighting career. Leben's abs look fantastic! Don't take this to sound as if I was checking Chris out as if I were Senator Larry Craig in a restroom but more as an indication that Leben is serious about taking it to the next level. While he has always been in shape for his fights, Leben has always relied on his fists to see him through and it seems as if he has been hard at work on every other aspect of his game in training camp. A powerful punch is something you are blessed with and it is very easy to sit back and expect the big shot to bail you out against a tough opponent but if Leben is going to advance to the upper echelon of the division he is of course going to need more than that. I don't see Leben changing as a fighter but I do see him becoming a more rounded fighter who now looks to position his opponent for the perfect punch rather than charge in wildly.
Michael Bisping is one hell of a fighter whose only loss came at the hands of Rashad Evans by way of a questionable decision. Bisping did enough to beat Evans and should have probably gotten the nod in this fight as much as he should have been on the losing end of his bout with Matt Hamill. Since dropping to middleweight it appears that Bisping has found his comfort zone and is certainly suited more this division than he was for light heavyweight. His strikes are much more effective at this weight and he seems to be quicker as a result of fighting at a more natural weight. Bisping is blessed with an excellent standup game and he is a fighter who successfully moves forward with great resolve. Michael won't back down from a fight and in most fights he simply does not back down which serves to make this a compelling fight to watch as well as possibly a dangerous one for "The Count".
Bisping has enough of a punch that Leben is not going to simply be able to swing wildly and instill fear from the sound of the bell but it's his heart that could place him in harm's way. Bisping is a highly skilled fighter with an excellent pedigree who really has not gotten the respect he deserves from the American fans. It is going to be very tempting to fight Leben on a dime and trade punches in close quarters but it would be best if he would fight a more tactical fight. Bisping has power and he can finish fights effectively with his strikes but I believe he may try to put on a great showing and perhaps look for the big shot so much that he leaves himself open to taking one from Leben.
Bisping may or may not have a chin but in Leben he will be fighting a guy who it would not be wise to test it out against. If Bisping hears the cheers from the crowd and feels bulletproof he may unwisely get into deadly exchanges which could serve to knock him out. By no means should he be hesitant but he needs to fight with his mind and not his heart in this one. This is going to be tough because Bisping is a passionate guy who will be fighting in his homeland and on national television in a main event. I think Michael will venture into this one with some caution but will quickly throw this to the wind and begin swinging for the fences in a crowd pleaser of a fight.
Much like the fight before them, I do not see Leben vs. Bisping going the distance and I believe this is going to prove to be a fast paced fight which will have the live crowd on their feet for its duration. Those of us at home are in for a treat as this is a main event featuring two fighters who love to fight and are not about giving less than their best effort inside the Octagon. Both men are fighting for the right to rank among the elite in the sport at 185 lbs. and possibly for the title of "best fighter not named Anderson Silva," as it appears the championship belt is on lockdown.
I have got to go with Chris Leben in this fight as I truly feel he has matured and is well on his way to being a great fighter, and not just a talented one. Bisping could just as easily finish Leben off and embark on a possible showdown with Silva in the near future, and we simply will not know just what will happen until Saturday night. UFC 89 is one card you don't want to miss and since it's free, how could you? A night of tough fights will be upon us but the decision to stay in and watch them on Spike TV is just way too easy.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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