UFC 120 results recap from London for 'Bisping vs Akiyama'

UFC 120: "Bisping vs. Akiyama" took place earlier today (Oct. 16, 2010) from the O2 Arena in London, England.

Hot-and-cold middleweight Michael Bisping wanted to show the hometown crowd once and for all that he is indeed a contender for the promotion's 185-pound strap.

And after today's performance across the pond, not even International superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama can argue against him.

That's because "The Count" worked his way to a unanimous decision victory, surviving a "Sexy" onslaught in the opening round to eventually settle down and pull away in the second half of the fight.

There were eye-pokes and groin shots galore, but in the end, Bisping was both technical and methodical, while Akiyama seemed wild and desperate.

The hometown hero convinced the judges that he did enough to win -- but did he convince you that he's ready for a shot at the middleweight champion in 2011?

Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit served as the co-featured fight of the night, with each man trying to hold their place in line in what's quickly becoming a crowded 170-pound title picture.

In his last appearance, Hardy would last five rounds against division champion Georges St. Pierre, one of the world's top pound-for-pound fighters.

Tonight, he would last only one.

That's because Condit turned him from "Outlaw" to origami after folding him up with a thunderous left hook, one that crumpled the trash-talking Brit in front of his cheering fans. A few head bouncers would shut off the lights for good, and the "Natural Born Killer" has officially put the rest of his division on notice.

We already knew Condit had good jits. Now we now he has knockout power to go with it. Who's next for ever-improving Greg Jackson-disciple?

And how far down the ladder has Hardy tumbled?

Joining him at the drawing board is previously undefeated John Hathaway. "The Hitman" barely got a shot off in his three round fight with thirty-something scrapper Mike Pyle.

"Quicksand" lived up to his moniker, sinking Hathaway both on the ground and in the stand-up to earn the unanimous decision victory and push his Octagon record to 3-2.

Hathaway showed some of the grit and determination that made him such a promising young prospect, surviving a second round blitzkrieg that left him a little worse for the wear coming into the final frame.

The Brit will spend the rest of 2010 licking his wounds, but don't expect him to be out of the mix for very long. As for Pyle, it will be interesting if he can use the momentum from this upset win (listed as a +350 underdog) to catapult himself into bigger and better opportunities within the division.

Winner of Alves vs. Howard? Or loser of Shields vs. Kampmann?

Speaking of winners and losers, we got neither in the heavyweight mash-up between Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne. After three rounds of action, the jury was deadlocked at 28-28 and forced to rule this one a draw.

And Kongo has no one to blame but himself.

The Parisian got a bit overzealous with his hands, jerking and tugging at his opponent's shorts like a third grade prankster until referee Marc Goddard had seen enough of the tomfoolery and docked Kongo a point for the infraction.

It likely cost him the win.

Browne was game the entire fight, hanging tough and throwing leather. Ugly leather, but leather nonetheless. Aside from an unintentional ball mashing in the second stanza, Kongo did little to hurt his foe. He obviously has the size and the talent to compete in the UFC heavyweight division, but something seems to be missing.

Killer instinct? Gameplan? Anyone want to take a stab at what's keeping Kongo from breaking out of mediocrity?

These two certainly have a score to settle, but how many fans out there are clamoring to see it?

One person they may be inclined to ask for more of is Claude Patrick. "The Prince" was sheer royalty in his opening fight of the night against British banger James Wilks.

In fact, "Lightning" may have been lighting in a bottle in his Octagon debut. After winning The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale, Wilks is 1-2 under the UFC banner, including today's unanimous decision loss to Patrick, who extends his winning streak to twelve straight.

Is Wilks one loss a way from going back to the regional circuit? And is Patrick one win away from placing himself in the top ten rankings?

That’s enough from us — now it’s your turn to discuss "Bisping vs. Akiyama" in the comments section below. Are you pleased with all the decisions and their outcomes? How did you score Kongo vs. Browne? Does Akiyama have a future as a UFC middleweight? Is Michael Bisping ready to challenge for 185-pound gold? 

Sound off, Maniacs. 

For complete UFC 120 results and detailed blow-by-blow commentary of the televised main card fights click here.