Let’s run down the list of “Who’s Hot” and “Who’s Not” from UFC Fight Night 84: ‘Silva vs Bisping’ which took place last night (Sat., Feb. 27, 2016), nominating the biggest winners and losers from the UFC Fight Pass event inside the O2 Arena in London, England.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to London, England last night (Sat., Feb. 27, 2016) for UFC Fight Night 84: “Silva vs. Bisping,” as the O2 Arena hosted an odd, but overall exciting night of mixed martial arts (MMA) action live on UFC Fight Pass.
In the main event of the evening, Michael Bisping earned his biggest victory to date, defeating the legendary Anderson Silva via unanimous decision in a razor close five round fight (highlights here). The win was “The Count’s” 18th inside the Octagon, one behind Georges St-Pierre’s record of 19 UFC victories.
In the co-main event, Gegard Mousasi completely manhandled Thales Leites, battering the Brazilian for 15 minutes en route to a uninspiring unanimous decision victory.
Check out the recap here.
With that quick overview of the night’s marquee bouts, here are your biggest winners, as well as the runners-up from London.
Biggest Winner: Michael Bisping
Over a decade into his storied MMA career, Michael Bisping earned his biggest victory to date, defeating arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Anderson Silva via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 84.
It may have been controversial, and it was definitely a very strange and close battle, but in the end the Englishman had his hand raised in front of his home crowd.
In the lead-up to the fight, “The Count” put a ton of pressure on himself, acknowledging his fight against “The Spider” would ultimately determine his legacy as a fighter.
He was battered, bruised, and nearly knocked out cold on more than one occasion, but Bisping never backed down in the 25-minute war.
Regardless of how you scored the fight, no one can ever question the perennial Middleweight contender’s heart.
A day before his 37th birthday, nearly 10 years since his Octagon debut, Bisping finally got the monkey off his back by winning the “big one.”
In my estimation, Michael Bisping has finally earned the right to fight for UFC gold.
Runners-up: Gegard Mousasi
It wasn’t pretty and it was hardly exciting, but Gegard Mousasi got the job done in London last night.
The 30-year old MMA veteran badly needed a victory after a colossal knockout upset against Uriah Hall his last time out, and he did just that by controlling Thales Leites for 15 minutes.
The fight was truly a snoozefest unless you are absolutely captivated by singular jabs and a one-sided beatdown.
If Mousasi wants to contend for UFC gold, he is going to need to put fighters away, but it is understandable for him to fight a bit more cautiously following his last loss.
Hopefully he is a bit more aggressive his next time out.
Brad Pickett
While I personally didn’t agree with the decision, it is hard to discount Brad Pickett after a gutty split decision victory in front of his home crowd last night.
In a thrilling three round affair, Pickett and Francisco Rivera exchanged haymakers consistently, throwing caution to the wind and swinging for the fences at every instance.
It was Pickett’s 15th ZUFFA bout, and the split decision was his first victory since March 2014.
“One Punch” was very emotional following the win, dedicating his performance to his newborn child, and noting he would have called it a career had he lost.
The win snapped a three fight losing streak for Pickett, and will likely ensure his return to the Octagon for at least one more rodeo.
Biggest Loser: Anderson Silva
It is definitely difficult to categorize Anderson Silva as the “Biggest Loser” following a thrilling five-round main event in London, but the former champ ultimately put himself in a position to lose a closely contested decision.
It is important to remember “The Spider” had fought merely once in the last two years following his horrific leg injury against Chris Weidman, so it was to be expected the former Middleweight kingpin would come out somewhat rusty early on.
In the first two rounds, Silva looked every bit a diminished 40-year old, getting rocked by a handful of combinations by Bisping.
Towards the end of the second round, Silva was nearly finished by a violent barrage from “The Count,” but managed to survive the onslaught.
In round three, Silva’s flashes of brilliance returned at points, but so did his antics that caused his brutal knockout against Weidman.
The former champ was playing games with Bisping, allowing the Englishman to get off his shots as Silva attempted to bob and weave, and keep his hands at his waist.
All the while, Bisping was scoring, and Silva was getting further behind on the scorecards.
Silva ultimately began picking Bisping apart in the latter half of the third round, and “The Spider” believed he had won the bout via a jumping knee that knocked Bisping senseless as the bell rang.
But referee Herb Dean never called a stop to the bout.
An odd sequence ensued that saw the badly hurt Bisping struggle to get to his feet, while Silva jumped on top of the cage celebrating what he thought to be a walk-off knockout.
It wasn’t, and 10 minutes later “The Spider” was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.
After sharing his disappointment with the so-called corrupt judges in his post-fight interview, it will be interesting to see where Silva goes from here.
Is this the end of the great Anderson Silva, or does he still have something left to prove inside the Octagon?
Only time will tell.
Runners-up: Thales Leites
When Thales Leites returned to the Octagon in 2013 for his second UFC stint and reeled off five straight victories, some believed the Brazilian could potentially earn his second shot at UFC gold.
Unfortunately for Leites, two poor performances and subsequent decision losses has put his back against the wall and completely eviscerated all title shot discussions.
Leites was simply outclassed by Gegard Mousasi on the feet, as the Brazilian failed to muster up any sustainable offensive throughout the fight.
Instead, Leites was essentially a human punching bag, as Mousasi was content with coasting through the final round to win the decision easily.
Back to the drawing board for Leites.
The Judges, Referees, & Ringside Physicians
UFC Fight Night 84 was full of weird moments, and questionable decisions from both the judges and ringside officials.
The most glaring mishap was of course the completely botched ending to the third round of the main event.
Herb Dean never called a stop to the fight after Silva landed a devastating jumping knee flush on Bisping’s chin.
“The Spider” was convinced the fight was over, and began celebrating as Dean attempted to handle the situation.
Instead, it was just an absolute mess from top to bottom.
The fight ultimately went on, and even though Bisping went on to win, the ringside physicians completely failed in protecting the Englishman.
In my estimation, the fight should have been stopped at the end of the third round.
Of course we as fans don’t want a fight to end in controversial fashion, but fighter safety must come first, and that wasn’t the case in London.
As for the decisions, many disagreed with the judges in the main event, but that was hardly a robbery.
The strangest result on the card is a toss up, as Brad Pickett defeated Francisco Rivera in a highly questionable split decision, and Daniel Omielanczuk won via technical decision after a nut shot against Jarjis Danho ended the fight 90 seconds into the final round.
Very strange night overall.
For complete results from UFC Fight Night 84: “Silva vs. Bisping,” including play-by-play updates click here.