UFC 120: Michael Bisping Prevails and Carlos Condit Stuns Dan Hardy

With Wilks, Hathaway and Hardy all losing, the night was looking rather bleak for the British fighters.

Fortunately for UK fans, Michael Bisping was able to break the mould with a unanimous decision victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama on Saturday night at UFC 120.

Akiyama started the bout off strong as usual in a competitive first couple of rounds. He looked to be the better boxer, as an unsettled Bisping struggled to find his mark during the initial exchanges. Bisping was able to nab a take-down in the first round, but Akiyama did a great job of scrambling back to his feet.

It didn’t take Bisping long to turn things around as he finally started to find his range in the second round. The cardio-plagued Akiyama struggled to keep up with Bisping who danced in and out of the pocket with jabs and straights.

It was a scary moment at the end of the second round when Akiyama landed a hard right hand that sent Bisping into survival mode.

"I was seeing double. That’s for sure," Bisping told Joe Rogan.

Bisping survived the late rally and continued to outland Akiyama in the third round. Instead of crisp combinations, a waning Akiyama was forced to settle for single shots. The misfortunes for Akiyama didn’t end with his failing gas tank—Bisping landed a misplaced inside leg kick that had the Judoka clutching for his manhood.

After a good delay, Bisping picked up where he left off. It was a pitiful sight as he soundly picked apart the sluggish Akiyama throughout the remainder of the bout.

"Akiyama is a tough fighter. I truly believe in my training and my skills," Bisping said. "I’m working hard. No one works harder than me."

The co-main event featured quite the shocker when Carlos Condit KO’d former Welterweight Championship contender Dan Hardy in the first round.

Despite being the more aggressive fighter, Hardy was constantly repelled by inside leg kicks. Condit did a tremendous job of staying on the outside with his offense and frustrating the Team Rough House student. Most people figured Hardy would have the advantage on the feet and Condit would seek out the take-down.

"I feel comfortable on my feet. If it would have gone to the ground, I would have done well there, too," Condit said in his post-fight interview.

Hardy continued to press the action until he finally saw an opportunity to land his dangerous left hook. As he loaded up, Condit countered with an even faster left hook that dropped Hardy immediately on impact.

"The Natural Born Killer" followed up with two extra shots on the ground that knocked the charismatic Brit out cold at 4:27 into Round 1.

"I was worried about his left hand. I know he’s got a lot of power," Condit said. "Dan Hardy’s a great competitor. Hats off to him, much respect."

It was a tough loss for Hardy, who was already coming off the loss to Georges St. Pierre.

"I got punched in the face. Sorry guys. Next time," Hardy told Joe Rogan when asked what went wrong. "That’s why it’s a sport. You can win or lose at any point. I’ll see where I went wrong and learn from it."

Pyle Upsets Hathaway

In one of the earlier stunners, Mike Pyle dominated unbeaten prospect John Hathaway.

Pyle set the tone for the entire fight with a well-executed take-down in the opening round. In a short frame of time, he was able to do what Diego Sanchez and Rick Story couldn’t do.

The take-down allowed Pyle to feint level changes and tee-off on Hathaway with body shots and overhands. The story of the night had to be Pyle’s head movement. Hathaway always seemed to be within an inch of landing as Pyle bobbed in and out of range.

In the second round, Hathaway found himself trapped in an inverted triangle from mount. Instead of cinching up the submission, Pyle held the position and racked up an abundance of points with unanswered punches. It was a one-sided beat down that had some scoring the round 10-8 for Pyle.

Pyle got the opportunity to display some amazing trips and throws in the first and third rounds. It was a dominant performance that allowed him to show a multitude of skills. The final round was full of more take-downs and ground and pound.

Hathaway was completely neutralized from his back. All he could do was survive as Pyle coasted to a unanimous decision.

Point Deduction Costs Kongo

In the Heavyweight attraction, Cheick Kongo took on Travis Browne. Fans were ultimately left to face palm, as the sloppy and sluggish bout ended in a draw.

Kongo came out hesitant to exchange with the overpowering Browne. Browne blasted Kongo with wild and open exchanges. They were punches that could’ve easily been countered, but Kongo’s reluctance had him backpedaling the majority of the first round.

Kongo started to open up more in the second round with well-placed straights and counters. The clinch played a bigger role as he worked Browne’s legs with short knees against the cage. Before the bell, Browne secured the first take-down in the bout.

Kongo continued his handiwork in the third round. From the clinch, he was warned by the ref for grabbing Browne’s shorts for leverage. The ref finally deducted a point from the Frenchman when the warnings went unheeded.

With the bout ending in a draw, the deduction cost Kongo the fight. He may have to get a rain check on that rematch with Frank Mir.

Unknown Patrick Stops TUF Season 9 Winner

In his second UFC bout, Claude Patrick defeated James Wilks by unanimous decision.

It wasn’t the homecoming Wilks was expecting. For three rounds, Patrick was consistent with his take-downs. On the ground, Wilks did a nice job fending off submissions and transitions. The fans became restless as Patrick maintained top control and thwarted any offense.

From his back, Wilks never presented Patrick with any real threat. Attempts at securing rubber guard were defended beautifully by the Canadian. The only real form of offense came from Wilks’s up-kicks. They didn’t do much good. Patrick avoided the majority of the kicks and continued his domination from top.

With this loss, Wilks may find himself in a similar boat to that of Efrain Escudero, who was released by the UFC in September. Wilks is 1-2 since winning TUF Season 9.

Patrick moves on to 2-0 in the UFC. The win over Wilks was his 12th straight victory.

(Originally Published on SportsHaze.com...Follow me on Bleacher Report or on Twitter at SportsHaze_MMA)