Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva took on perennial contender Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC Fight Night 84 this afternoon (Sat., Feb. 27, 2016) inside O2 Arena in London, England.
For the full main event recap click here.
Silva and Bisping pulled no punches in the build-up to their highly anticipated headliner “across the pond.” “The Spider” and “The Count” both came in needing a victory in order to move past the talented pool of middleweights that crowd the Top 10.
The long-awaited tussle between two of middleweight division staples took a wee bit of time to get interesting, but when it did, you knew there would be continuous fireworks.
Early on, Bisping set the pace utilizing a strict boxing regimen. The Brit’s hands were high and no shot of his seemed out of place.
Bisping scored with his jab, several leg kicks and a few head kicks over the first frame. He failed to connect on anything game-changing, though.
Silva was forced to back up towards the fence and take quick shots at Bisping. He would eventually break out the theatrics, but Bisping wasn’t fazed.
Bisping was lured towards the fence once more in round two, and Silva had some success with his strikes, landing a couple of solid backfists.
Then came the boom in the form of a huge left hook from Bisping. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 winner pounced and landed a few powerful blows, but the round was over.
Moving into the third round and beyond, Silva began to gain more confidence and took the center of the Octagon. The mixed martial arts (MMA) legend put his stamp on the third in the form of a knee strike, which planted Bisping on the canvas.
Fight over? Nah, said referee Herb Dean.
With Bisping bloodied and visibly wobbly entering the championship rounds, Silva knew he had him dead in the water. Bisping hung tough, though, and took on the role of the aggressor during portions of the final two frames, while the Brazilian sought out the homerun shot.
In the end, their entertaining contest went to the judges, who delivered a unanimous-decision verdict to the hometown contender Bisping. For Bisping, it’s his third win in-a-row, which will likely put him in title discussions.
For Silva, it sees him drop to 0-3-(1) in his last four Octagon outings.
For complete coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 84 card, including post-fight recaps and analysis, click here.