Michael Bisping scored a decided victory in the trash talk department leading up to his TUF Nations Finale main event against Tim Kennedy.
Kennedy, though, walked the walk in the Octagon. The middleweight scored his biggest career victory Wednesday night, earning a unanimous decision victory after five rounds in Quebec City. The judges’ scores were 49-46, 49-46, and 50-45.
Bisping was fighting for the first time in just under a year due to surgery to repair a detached retina. In the opening round, he the longtime British standout simply looked like a rusty fighter, as Kennedy dominated him from bell to bell with superior wrestling and solid ground and pound.
In round two, Bisping found his footing. With the round contested mainly standing up, Bisping found his range and landed several heavy shots.
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Round three was close to a repeat of round one, as Kennedy took Bisping down and kept him there.
The bout continued to follow its odd pattern in round four, as the pair stood for the majority of the round. This time, though, while Bisping landed more volume, Kennedy landed the heavier punches and appeared to wobble Bisping at one point.
In the fifth round, Kennedy took Bisping down again. The duo was restarted with about two minutes left, and while Bisping had to know he needed to pull something off to take a decision, he was never really able to get untracked.
Kennedy, a Jackson’s MMA fighter improved to 18-4. He’s won four straight fights and seven out of his last eight. Bisping (24-6) lost for the second time in his past three fights.
“I finish fights, I didn’t finish the fight tonight,” Kennedy said. “I hit him with my best shots, my hat’s off to him and I respect him. I’m just going to keep getting better. “
The duo squashed their beef after the fight.
“What happened is happened,” Bisping said, before shaking Kennedy’s hand. “it’s done, its history, congratulations.”