UFC 120 is scheduled for October 16, 2010 at the O2 Arena in London England and Spike TV will air this event that 
features Michael “The Count” Bisping (20-3) against Japanese sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2, 2 NC).
Bisping, fighting out of Manchester, England won The Ultimate Fighter 3 show defeating Josh Haynes. Bisping won two of his next three fights then smartly dropped down to middleweight, where he then won his next three contests.
Since then, Bisping has continued to take on only the best in the 185lb division including Dan Henderson, Dan Miller, and Denis Kang.
Bisping likes to hype up his fights with his famous trash talking, but in his fight with Henderson, that proved to be a big mistake as Henderson made short work of “The Count” with an impressive 2nd round knock out from a vicious right hand.
One of Japan’s best MMA fighters, Akiyama won the 2001 Asian Championships and 2002 Asian Games in judo. Last July in his debut at UFC 100, he had a split-decision victory over Alan Belcher in a fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Akiyama’s next fight was against well known Chris “The Crippler” Leben at UFC 116, where he suffered a tough loss to Leben but again the fighter earned the “Fight of the Night” bonus. Akiyama’s career depends on this fight. He desperately needs a victory over Bisping to continue his path to a title shot.
Other fights on the UFC 120 card include the charismatic Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 NC) against Carlos Condit (25-5).
This is Hardy’s first bout since losing in his welterweight title shot against UFC champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March 2010. Hardy, “The Outlaw,” in the biggest fight in his career, couldn’t put much offense together and was overwhelmed by the athleticism of St Pierre who controlled Hardy all five rounds in the unanimous decision.
Condit (25-5), who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of the division’s top contenders. Despite being only 26 years old, he is a MMA veteran and was the last man to hold the WEC welterweight belt.
Also on the fight card is a heavyweight showdown between Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) and undefeated Travis Browne (10-0). Kongo is returning to the arena where he enjoyed his finest moment in the Octagon, a decision victory over Cro Cop at UFC 75 while 6ft-7in Browne, a native of Hawaii, won his UFC debut in June over James McSweeney with a first round TKO.
Used with permission of the author.
Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. For a competitor/fan’s point of view and pre and post fight info, updates, and the latest buzz surrounding MMA, follow Scott on Sports Climax. In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, his material can also be found on American Top Team’s website. Email Scott @ skizberry@aol.com.
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