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Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben set UFC 89

In a fight that was originally scheduled for UFC 85, Michael Bisping will step into the Octagon against Chris Leben at UFC 89 in October, in England. The fight that was set for June 7th had to be changed when Leben turned himself in for an old DUI charge. Jason Day stepped in for Leben and was quickly overwhelmed by Bisping. It took Bisping only 3:42 into the first round to score the TKO victory.

Leben will be the first legitimate contender that Bisping will face since his debut in the middleweight division in April. Bisping has looked like a different fighter since dropping weight classes. He looks more fit and has great quickness. He already had a very good stand-up game and his hands are so much quicker now that he seems destined for the top of the division. As is the case with most of Bisping’s fights, he will be the huge crowd favorite since the event will be in London.

Chris Leben will be returning to the cage for the first time since his exciting win over Alessio Sakara in March. Since this fight isn’t until October, Leben will have plenty of time to get into great shape which he’ll have to be if he is going to beat Bisping. Leben has a great chin and can definitely take a punch. Bisping will surely test that chin in what should be a great stand-up war. Leben has shown great knockout power in the past and has the capability to knock out Bisping. The question will be: Can Leben catch Bisping to hit him with a knockout shot?

I’m glad Dana White and Joe Silva set the match back up. It should serve as a measuring stick for Bisping to see where he is at against top flight middleweights. It’s also a chance for Chris Leben to show that he’s turned his life around and is still a threat in the division. It’s obvious from the outside that the UFC is pushing Bisping to the top of the division with having most of his fights in England, but Chris Leben is dangerous enough to halt those plans with one big fist.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Alessio Sakara, Michael Bisping, In the Cage, Chris Leben, The Ultimate Fighter, Pay-Per-View, Dana White, UFC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.