Taking the show to the heart of England, UFC 89 played out in front of a capacity crowd at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. The audience eagerly awaited the headlining bout between Britain’s own MMA star Michael Bisping and self-styled bad boy Chris Leben as a host of top class competitors battled in the Octagon on a card that had some excellent competitive match ups. With the support for the UK fighters ringing around the arena, the fans were treated to some all out wars, especially the ‘fight of the night’ between Paul Taylor and Chris Lytle as well as some highly technical battles.

In a bout that both fighters saw as either putting them on the road to the title or as going back to the drawing board, Bisping and Leben brought their A-games to the cage. Over the three rounds Bisping used his footwork to excellent effect, moving in and out of Leben’s range and chopping up the Americans face with stinging shots. Undeterred, Leben continued to move forward but found it hard to find a home for his heavy hands as Bisping kept the fight where he wanted it, even scoring a take down in the first round to secure the point advantage. Leben looked frustrated as the fight wore on, goading his opponent to trade but Bisping stuck to his game plan and showed good skills in the clinch and when he was taken down, suffering little damage. Taking the unanimous decision, Bisping showed that he has made the transition into the middleweight division comfortably, and whilst some might have felt the win was a cautious one, his crisp striking skills and evasive footwork got the job done very effectively against a tough opponent.

Keith Jardine has said that he is more serious about the game now than he ever was and wanted to put a stop to the see-saw performances he has put in lately; against Vera he showed a very solid skill set to take the split decision. In a very close match both men were looking to finish the other but neither wanted to make a mistake. Jardine had the better of the first round, finishing it with a flurry of blows against his trapped opponent but Vera came out firing in the second. Scoring a nasty kick to the knee that slowed Jardine considerably, Vera began to land with shots and clearly took the second. The final round was a brutal affair as both fighters looked to end the bout in a decisive fashion, yet each man had a full gas tank and the toughness to match as the fight ended with a tremendous exchange. Getting the nod from two of the judges gave Jardine the win in a brilliant yet little applauded technical battle.

Thierry Sokoudjou dominated Luiz Cane in the first round, battering his opponent with his explosive power and heavy kicks. Luiz managed to weather the storm and drag the bout into a second round and though visibly beaten up began strongly. A kick to Sokoudjou’s groin may have taken the wind out of him as the Team Quest fighter slowed considerably, and after a heavy exchange of blows, Cane launched an attack that put his opponent against the fence. Dropping Sokoudjou with a left, Cane followed up with a barrage of shots that forced the referee, Marc Goddard, to stop the bout near the end of the round.

Both men promised and both delivered; at the weigh-ins Lytle asked Taylor to make it ‘fight of the night’ and the result was truly one of the most explosive 15 minutes of MMA action seen in the UK for some time. Taylor used crisp short punches and kicks to devastating effect whilst Lytle’s all out brawling style kept him in the mix as both fighters stood and traded for the three rounds. The American clearly has a stone chin as Taylor landed with solid shots but Lytle pushed the pace and though he was clearly gassing in the final round under the Brit’s onslaught he had done enough in the judges’ eyes to take the unanimous decision.

A cagey first round between Marcus Davis and Paul Kelly showed that both respected the others power and skills. Davis used leg kicks to set up his punches and managed to avoid Kelly’s counter shots in the first but couldn’t control the Wolfslair fighter on the ground after a takedown. In the second Kelly began throwing shots in his usual aggressive style, working his way in for a takedown but Davis secured his opponent’s head and swiftly moved to guard to sink in the choke for the win. Visibly disappointed with himself after being handed his first loss, Kelly had an experienced and wily competitor to deal with and with youth on his side he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Dan Hardy took a well earned decision win over a tricky opponent in his debut bout for the UFC. Renowned for being an awkward fighter, Gono did his best to spoil Hardy’s game plan but the Rough House stand-out was not to be denied the win. Walking down his opponent and landing heavy punches and kicks, Gono spent most of the round one and two back peddling and firing off ineffective counter shots. In the final round a battered and beaten Gono seemed buoyed after landing an illegal knee to the head of Hardy who was on all fours regaining his feet, but his attack did little to affect the outcome of the match as Hardy secured the win to prove he is more than ready for top flight competition.

Shane Carwin was too much for debuting Neil Wain as he quickly secured the clinch to takedown before effortlessly moving into mount. Wain was unable to escape as Carwin dropped bombs that forced the referee to step in and call a halt to the match early in the first round.

David Bielkheden took a close win over Jess Liaudin in a back-and-forth match where each looked to impose their will on the other. Bielkheden scored with a number of solid take downs and slams but Liaudin worked diligently for the whole five minutes of each round ending the first and second in a dominant position. In the third Bielkheden landed some good ground and pound but Liaudin continued to work to the last though it was not enough in the end to sway the judges.

Terry Etim looked on fire as he controlled his more experienced opponent, Sam Stout, both in the stand up and on the ground. Employing his reach to good effect, Etim scored through out the fight with his Muay Thai as well as taking his opponents back and nearly finishing the bout in the second. Stout come out in the third round aggressively but Etim used his footwork and head movement to evade and counter to take the well deserved win.

Jim Miller and David Baron engaged in a very technical ground battle but it was the American’s pace and strength that began to tell as he put the pressure on his French opponent. Landing punches and elbows Miller looked in control the whole fight, forcing Baron to concentrate on defending. In the third Miller used his ground and pound to find an opening and sink in the choke for the victory.

Per Eklund displayed hugely improved confidence and skills as he battled fellow lightweight Samy Schiavo in a very even match. Schiavo had the momentum in the first, rocking his opponent but Eklund came back in the second and began to take control of the fight. In the third the Swedish native took the fight to the mat and forced the submission to take his first UFC win in an exciting match.