London Is Calling, And Its Sons Shall Come Home For UFC 120

It's official: Dan Hardy won't be the only UK-born big timer at the O2 on October 16th.

Confirmed today was the news that "The Count" Michael Bisping will be the next in line for Yoshihiro Akiyama, the legendary black belt judoka who will be coming off his first UFC loss and second Fight Of The Night against Chris "The Crippler" Leben.

The fight will be the main event of the evening, with "The Outlaw" facing "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit in the co-main event of the evening

What Akiyama faced in Leben, he can expect out of Bisping.

Akiyama can expect a gritty fighter who can submit people, knock them out and give them hell for three rounds, but Akiyama can expect the same thing out of Bisping that he got out of Leben, and that "something" is a tough, hard-nosed fighter who will not hesitate to scrap with him.

As for Bisping on the ground, the question could be that of whether or not he'd want to go there with the black belt judoka.

I think Bisping would do well to stay on his feet with Akiyama, weaken him with the brutal striking game that Bisping and only Bisping can deliver, and then take Akiyama to the ground before finishing him.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if Akiyama was the one to inflict that strategy on Bisping, and even more-so, I'd not be in a state of shock if this saw a third round.

The one thing I do anticipate is that there will be fireworks in London this October.

As for Condit Vs. Hardy, that fight has "Fight Of The Night" written all over it.

Will Hardy and Bisping score a win in their home country, or will Condit and Akiyama move one step up their respective division's ladders?

All we can say for sure is that the UK's two favorite sons are coming home this fall.

Akiyama and Condit would do well to be careful.