Bisping To Meet Leben In England On October 19th
The UFC is set to invade English soil with native Michael Bisping in tow yet again, according to a report from Setanta Sports:
“Michael Bisping will get his fight with Chris Leben, it will happen in England, and it will be spectacular. That was the message of UK UFC president Marshall Zelaznik on Setanta Sports’ “Ultimate Talk†show on Thursday night. The UFC will return to England on October 19, at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, and Bisping will once again be the star attraction…”
While I do my usual sigh upon hearing that the UFC intends to whore Bisping out to an English crowd for the fourth time, I cannot help feeling excited for this match up, which has been a rumor in the mill for some time now. Though Bisping still has much to prove as a fighter, one cannot deny that his move to 185lbs has really taken flight. The speed, the combinations, the visible abs, middleweight looks to be a fine home for “The Count”, as he has TKO’d both Charles McCarthy and Jason Day since shedding the extra 20 pounds from light heavyweight.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben is also coming off back to back (T)KO wins inside the octagon, as well as a brief incarceration period that we can only assume has helped motivate the once reckless TUF alumnus. Leben is known for his solid jaw in addition to his serious punching power, and should prove an excellent test for the man the UFC loves to transport across the pond. It’s definitely been a while since the octagon hosted a real stand up battle, so heres to hoping that Bisping and Leben put on the show everyone wants to see.
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Tags: Chris Leben, Michael Bisping
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Let’s go Leben, beat him up in England.
I hope Bisping cripples Leben, Im not a huge Bisping fan but I like him better than Leben
I agree Krav.
Bisping TKO over Leben the 2nd
I hope Leben kicks the $hit out of Bisping.. I cant tell you why i dont like the dude I just dont ……………… Leben TKO rd.2
Leben has cleaned up a bit finally and isn’t near as c*cky as he used to be. I’ll root for him out of dislike for Bisping due to his BULLSH|T win over Matt Hammill.
Bisping doesnt have the power to knock leben out and i dont think he will be able to take him down, i say Leben by KO round 2
i still believe that bisping will destroy him in the first. he is very quick while leban has power so does bisping but leban is not as fast as the count. we will see that is forsure. bisping will step on leban and take one more major step too a title shot.
I have to admit, I disliked Leben immensely after the first season of TUF, but I have since grown to like him. The losses to Silva, Macdonald, and Starnes forced him to re-evaluate his life and take a more humble and intelligent approach to fighting. It has paid off very well for him, with the back-to-back TKO wins over Terry Martin and Alessio Sakara. I think he is a better fighter and a better person now than he ever was. I always liked Bisping, and I think the cut to middleweight was a smart move on his part. This is a hard fight to call – it will definitely be a stand-up war. I am rooting for Leben though, based purely on patriotism (go USA!)
see everyones going to be split on this one. but whoever wins and gets the title shot. there not going to win the belt
I have to back Leben in this one. He better get the KO though. never leave the decision to the judges in Europe as Bisbing is virtually the European Champ.
Yeah, never leave it to those European judges. Wait – weren’t the 2 who game him the (wrong) decision against Hammill American? And the European gave Hammill the verdict. By all means correct me if I’m wrong.
Makes me laugh that people hate Bisping for that decsion. He didn’t make it.
And is it a big surprise the UFC “whore” him in England? They want to break the market there as well as draw the crowds and make money. He’s a big name there.
Not a fan of either…but bisping should win no problem…He is just a lot better then leben
Mike, are you saying that the winner should get to fight for the MW title?
This is going to be a great fight and i can’t wait to watch. I would like to c Bisping win becuz if he won he would fighter winner of cote/almedia fight, and then get a title shot. But if chris leben winds the fight we already know how anderson/leben turned out (pure domination). So i would like to c what bisping can do against anderson, that is if he wins.
Silva will be the middleweight champ for years to come no doubt but seeing how leben won a split against pat cote stand up fight, ko matin ko santiago ko italian boxer sakara.. no doubt he will ko bisping..
I have to say that it could be quite a while until we see A. Silva defend his title at MW. I basing this on the fact he’s trying out the light heavy weight thing, and if that looks good for him, then you know Dana is going to let him stay there and prove himself for a while. Not many people really want to see Okami and him fight again, yeah we all know Okami is the last to beat him and all that, but that was very controversial to say the least. I think the UFC knew that would be hard to sell, but they can sell Silva against fighters at LHW much easier.
I want Leben to win this one. Bisping is getting a little too star struck over himself. After telling Guy Ritchie to let him be a gangster in his next movie I think Bisping is getting a big head. Leben has improved and is far under rated in my opinion.
bisping is so garbage… leben is going to put a jailhouse hurtin’ on him.. lol
I hope leben whoops some ass, been a huge fan of chris’s since he pissed on that dudes bed…or was it the other way around i cant remember, man i wish i could party with him
Man… this one is going to ROCK!
I still don’t think a win from this is going to lead to a title shot. I think whoever wins (Bisping in the 2nd) will be one step away. After this it would be a true contender.
Bisping will win by TKO in the second , Leben swings for the fences and the count will just pick him off , he’s a much smarter fighter , GO U.K !!!!!!!! LOL
KOuch
bisping said that as a joke to guy ritchie, u americans dont understand the english humor we are very sarcastic but u guys dont seem to remember that and take everything we say t heart.
as for the fight im a big fan of leban but c’mon hes not going to be able to hang with the count, the only was he can win is by a lucky punch like any knockout artist can, but the count is going to do what silva did to him get on top an beat his arse in the first, what alot of people dont no is the count has got heavy hands and a lot of knockout power plus now with the legs kicks comeing through, bring on silva!!!
Johnboy
Its not that they don’t understand sarcasm, I think there either there just f*cking thick or being stupid for the sake of it. How else can you account for the fact that they believe Bisping will lose to Leben. I like Leben and genuinly hope he doesn’t get hurt bad by Bisping, but come on guys, Bisping at MW is a different proposition to Bisping at LH. In the lower weight class not only is he quicker than every middleweight he’s also more powerfull.
Also I think he should change his nickname……I like Michael ‘Mr UFC’ Bisping, what do you think johnboy, it has a certain ring to it?
I hate bispings personallity something bout the guy grinds my gears but he is an excellant fighter and i see bisping winning this fight by decision(lebens only been put down by Silva and if u think bispings accuracy and power r anywhere near Silvas ur off the reservation) and afta that i see him running into some speed bumps wit some of the higher ups in the division (Okami, Cote, Almedia, Pahlares) wit the resident gate keeper Franklin being his biggest obsticle
Bisping haters are in for a surprise… like most folk I too like Leban… but Bisping will win this fight by TKO!
Bisping is getting really good at MW, but I do think he’ll have a lot of trouble with the MW elite (Franklin, Henderson, Marquardt & Okami)and is not ready for Silva… Bisping needs to take his time leban first then either Cote/Almedia then see what’s What!
So, Dan P, you think “Bisping is getting really good at MW”. I guess that 2 MW doormats are pretty hard to beat. I am really looking forward to this fight. Either way it goes, I think it will be very fun to watch.
Great match up here! Should be a stand up war! I belive The Count is more well rounded than Leben and that may prove to be the difference int he fight. Other than that, they are pretty much even in my estimation. One thing though, Bisping’s chin is a little suspect to me. It’s going to be intersting to see how he reacts after taking a punch from Leben. Should be a great fight!
MJG
Thanks for the correction.
Didn’t remember that they were US judges on foreign soil. I should have typed more along the lines of Bisbing is becoming bigger than the fight itself he is almost at “sports entertainment level”. What that means he is of the caliber of a Jordan type of athlete and people understand that all those people do not want to pay their money and see him lose so he could get any break or close call in England which appears to have happened in the Hammil fight.
I have to admit it though; if Bisping handles Leben easily and without injury I will be much impressed.
MJG
I don’t hate Bisbing I just think he got away with one. And Leben better work on his speed because Bisbing should win this one too wheither I want him to or not….
Dannyboy, i agree with that. If either of these guys finish the fight really fast and don’t get hurt, then that propels their status to the top. i don’t think it’ll happen, as I think it will be one of those fights like Terry Martin and Leben, where they battle hardcore for a couple rounds then one gets a shot square to the jaw and that’s it. We’ll see.
said it before and i’ll say it again, leben’s gonna take this fight. the reason is simple. he just spent time in prison defending himself from bisping’s fight style which is based around trying to have sex with dudes. bispings a huge homo… and not cuz he got the decision vs hammill, but cuz he was a douchebag after the fight. and yes, the guy ritchie shout out was lame as well. i really hope the crippler puts a hurtin on him.
i’m going for leben, he’s done a lot of growing and improving, bisbing has not. leben never gives up, and has a rock hard chin
correct me if i’m wrong, but i think leben has fought a ton of really good fighters, and bisbing hasn’t, and in my mind lost to hamill, and evans fight he sucked.
i place 80% of the bisping hate being generated is teh fault of the UFC for only having him fight in UK…its weak when you get to fight at home every time.
the other 20% of the hate comes from when he actually talked sht like he won the Hammill fight.
Either way, they are getting people to pay to either cheer him on, or hope he gets the sht kicked out of him.
Leban swings to wide and wild. If Bisping leans back and then blasts him through the middle, like A. Silva did, then Bisping wins no problem.
zac, well said. I am from uk and saw bisping in ufc85, but, he’ll be bloody fighting AGAIN now in uk. I don’t egt to see the ufc much, and esp want a mix of fighters to show for my ticket price.
Now, all the americans who are dogging bisping, why so much?? it’s with soooo much hate, it’s unreal, you are being actually nasty when it’s not really called for.
I think Leben will win this fight, i like bisping, but I think Leben will win.
You guys really ought to get the “guy richie” episode OUT of your heads, I mean, that’s our way of funny talk. Like JOHNBOY said, it’s our sarcastic ways. You want to know someone who REALLY talks **** all the time? your home-boy Phil Baroni, I never hear anyone slagging him off.
As for Bisping being britain’s best fighter, no, he ain’t.
I rekon Neil Grove, or Robert “buzz” Berry could do just as much damage in the ufc, if not more.
Berry KO’d Ken Shamrock in style, and he’s fast and exciting.
Bisping is good, but come on guys, he’s only been in the UFC for like what??2 years? give him a chance. Leben was a crybaby bum to begin with, and you certainly seem to have given him some slack, so just sit down, bite your hot-dogs and watch what happens with Leben vs Bisping.
In the ufc, ANYTHING can happen,
like
Chuck/Rampage 2
GSP/ Serra 1
all it takes is a hit at the right time, on the right button.
i just hope leben actually makes it this time, shame if he dont. If he doesn’t, then dana will throw any crap bisping’s way, he deserves better so that he can get more respect form other fans who don’t rate him.
I mean, who the hell is Jason Day??
no offence, but they could have paired bisping a better fighter surely.
mma_k9
how can u not root for an english grown fighter? thats just bad mate, bisping could lead to more better talent in the uk, if we get behind him an people get to know who he is over here then its guna make more people look up to him and want to be like him, so that means more people training mma and getting that “bad ass” who your talking about, but i think we already have one in the count or mr ufc which does have a good ring to it JMP haha
Dietrich
I wasn’t singling your or your comments out especially. It’s just that I don’t always get the hate for Bisping. Of course it’s a sport and so people have their favourites as well as fighters they don’t like. But it just seems over the top some times.
Bisping talked a bit of trash to Hammill after their fight (which I agree he was lucky to get the decision on) but I think he apologised after.
Does anybody hate GSP so much for some of the comments he’s made?
GSP is pretty respectable….Michael Bisping is a jackass if you ask me…He acts like some lil high school punk …can’t wait to see Leben knock him the f*ck out…Get ready for a good ole American ass woopin’
GSP? What’d he ever do besides give hughes a hard time after that bj penn fight? he’s a classy guy and more importantly, he has the skills to back up anything he says. to be honest, i’ve never heard of bisping apoligizing to hammil. he’s seemed classy in other instances, but the damage has already been done in my book. in regards to baroni, i’m not a fan of him either. the reason i talk about bisping so much is 1. i dislike him more, and 2. he’s more relevant. baroni hasn’t done much since pride so it’s hard to dislike someone that barely exists.
seems like the uk fans on this site think that americans only cheer for americans. i don’t get it, cuz there’s plenty of US fighters i don’t care for and plenty of UK fighters that I love. not sayin that all the UK fans feel that way but it seems to be the general response any time we go off about bisping. for the record, i think paul taylor is the man. bisping is just a douchebag regardless of his birthplace. i will definetly be pullin for leben on this one.
1st off “Leben was a crybaby bum to begin with, and you certainly seem to have given him some slack” he acted like that cuz bobby douchebag southworth brought up the fact that he didnt have a dad so mayb in america we show some respect for a sensitive subject and some compassion for a kid whos not only goin thru a rough emotional matter but is doin it infront of assholes like urself on tv or is ur dickheadness just more of this english humor u people keep spouting about wats ur next piece of witty humor cuz its been a real rabble rising good time so far SHMUCK 2nd of all lebans had impressive fights against some quality fighters who the **** has Michael “the weasel” Bisping fought? … ill wait … o yea thats right NOBODY his biggest fights were Hammill(which cant stress enough he blew) and Rashad and 3rd i personally hate bisping cuz i was there when he fought Rashad and it was the most lackluster main event since tim sylvia vs jeff monson
No worries MJG,
I realized I wasn’t as clear on my writing and I needed to correct it.
i hope leben put’s the hurt on bisping.leben defenatly has the solid chin & never say die attitude.although bisping appears to have the edge in his boxing skills.
i cant wait go crippler!!!! F**k bisping
i think it would be a good one i think they would get in a exchange a leben would knock him out but thats a close one to call
Serra wasn’t happy with a few of the things GSP said after their first fight. I love GSP – was just using him as an example.
How muggish will all you lot feel if Bisping beats the S**t out of Leben?
Great to see the ufc back in the uk again but just a pity its in Birmingham. For those of you that haven’t had the pleasure, Birmingham is a real sh*thole and the people their speak like they’ve just watched Jesse Taylor go 50 round with Josh Koscheck, really boring. Bisping/Leben should be a great fight, looking forward to seeing Dan Hardy too.
Leben will have a punchers chance in this one for sure,but I think Bisping may be too much for him.
JPM,
Newark New Jersey isn’t exactly paradise… Guess it is the same way over seas.
JOHNBOY,
Don’t tread on American humor. I have a demented, sick, twisted, disgusting sense of humor as do many Americans. Bisping was serious when he said that statement. DEAD SERIOUS. Are you aware how dry and boring English humor is viewed here in the States? English humor/comedy is terrible. I still think you are cool though and I enjoy MMA discussion with you. I just had to enlighten you on the terrors of English humor when you are from the USA. Mr. Bean, Lock Stock&2Smokin Barerels and Borat are all good in my book. I’ll even be one of the first Americans to say Bisping is now being hated on and underrated based on people disliking his persoanlity. It’s almost a racial issue of Americans hating an Englishman….go figure.
serra took offense to gsp’s comments about why he lost the fight but if you notice that after the rematch, serra said in front of everybody that it wasn’t a big deal, just somethin prefight to hype things up and that gsp’s a class act.
kouch, i’m not sure i follow your last comment about it becoming a racial issue. for starters, americans and englishmen aren’t races but that’s just a semantics issue. but the point is, for myself anyway, that bisping bein hated for his personality means that and only that. it doesn’t have an impact of how i view the rest of the country. england just like every country in the world, us included, has douchebags and it’s ok to dislike them on their own accord. forgive me if i read that statement wrong, it just seems that in general alot of people on this site think that there’s some animosity between the US and UK. Last time I checked we’re allies and we get along just fine so it’s wierd to me that people would feel that way. am i alone in this or does anyone else see where i’m coming from?
KOuch
Just how sick twisted & demented are you? I had my reservations about you after reading all your dwarf & midget comments but you sound almost serial killerish
2girls2cups
Call me nieve but the way I see it, all this apparant anamosity between fans of different fighters and countries is no more than light hearted banter…..that and jealosy that the uk has the ufc’s best p4p fighter in Michael Bisping !!! I’m joking of course………or am I
jpm, how dare you even joke like that, haha. i see your point and if that’s the case then i feel a little better about the world if all the back and forth is just competitive banter. and on that note, i’ll make sure to watch the bisping leben fight with my musket and when leben wins i’m going to throw a teabag into the port of lb. just kidding or course.
2girls2cups
ha ha, jolly good old chap
english humor rocks haha what makes me laugh about u americans (in a good way) is how over the top u lot are and how mad u get, i love america only been there once but it was fun but u guys got to get to grip that we english are the biggest p*ss takeing twats u will ever meet and not take every thing to heart, the count rules tho and will make short work ov leben, and JMP u are right about the brummies i hate how they talk haha
JPM,
Serial killerish??? REALLY!?! My bad……I just like MMA and sick&twisted humor. I guess what I see as humorous is really just not funny and more f-d up than anything else. For what it’s worth I love talking MMA with you guys and Ipromise I would not kill someone. (pretty sure bout that)(not positive)
JOHNBOY,
Dude….if you’re going to drop English slang on us atleast translate it to American English. I got the butty thing but now you must define brummies.
people from birmingham kouch, people like JMP from liverpool r called scousers, london r called cockneys, manchester r mancs, and people like me from leeds are called gods haha
is it ironic that fans of MMA can actually joke around with each other and enjoy the rivalry while rival fans of soccer kill each other? this of course is the view i get from living in the US where soccer is nothing, but you would think it’s backwards. i think i’d feel safer in the octagon than outside the world cup, that’s just crazy. any of you UK guys able to shed some light on this? i have a couple irish co-workers who confirmed that i never want to attend a match so i’m curious to know if it’s really that bad.
football or “soccer” as u guys call it is my no.1 sport u need to go to a game in england to understand why we love it so much
and its not as bad as it used to be, its the best sport in the world tho closey followed by mma then cricket haha i will get ribed for that but i love the game
hmmm, statistically i’d have to agree with you. however i’ve heard that argument that if you took all sports and started em back from day 1, soccer as well as baseball wouldn’t survive. mostly it’s the tradition involved that keeps em going, plus the fact that you can go anywhere in the world and play soccer due to the the lack of equipment needed. i sorta get it but the level of intesity that the fans have is beyond me. i do however like the movie green st. hooligans. mostly cuz it’s an american kid beating the crap outa you brits, just like leben will do to bisping, hahahahaha. just messin with you guys
haha if u can get it try an watch FOOTBALL FACTORY that is way better then green street, its more what its like 2day then green street is, but u will only get trouble at a football match if u go looking for it, and us leeds fan have a bad rep check out some footage on you tube type in leeds v millwall that day was crazy haha
johnboy
Picking up on your earlier point, I always thought that people from london were called man utd fans, people from manchester were called man city fans, people from birmingham were called inbreds, but i’ll go with you on the scousers thing !! Not that it matters but i’m not actuall yfrom Liverpool, I live in a town called Chorley, its in Lancashire about 5 miles north of Bolton.
KOuch
No offense meant pal, I find your sick sense of humour similar to my own, your not Patrick Bateman are you? Often i’ll start to type stuff & think no delete that Jonathon you’ll end up getting misunderstood & banned !!
How about we drop all the football/soccer **** and talk about a mans sport. I think this is going to be a war of the words before the fight and its goin to be a matter of who can back it up. im goin leben ko 1st rd with a big signature left hook. if ur ever in australia though check out rugby league. tough sport.
jmp
int that were peter kay is from? yeah and your righ about the london thing haha,
johnboy
it certainly is, chorley fm, coming in your ears
JPM,
No offense taken. I know I’m strange. It use to be uncontrollable and embarassing. Now, it’s just uncontrollable. I gotta say it’s pretty cool we have a mix of USA and England here. I’ve been banned from other message boards for going off the deep end. I feel the difference here is we debate, respect other people’s opinions and leave it at that. On other boards people keep pushing the envelope. I’ve been banned from the MLB.com site for freaking out on people. I mostly got ganged up on but in the end I was banned because my opinions were not resepcted and I introduced some people to the more twisted dimensions of my mind. Maybe I just got racist….
KOuch
Out of interest what did you say to get banned from the other mma website
To save you getting banned from this site too you can tell me on jonathon74@live.co.uk