UFC 159 results: Michael Bisping beats Alan Belcher but eye poke finish mars bout

The co-main event of the evening at tonight's (Sat., April 27, 2013) UFC 159: "Jones vs. Sonnen" pay-per-view (PPV) at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, featured a middleweight mash up pitting the always cocky Michael Bisping against the confident Alan Belcher.

Or maybe it's the other way around. Then again, what would it matter when they finally got inside the cage and threw down?

They were tentative to start, neither fighter wanting to make the first mistake. Belcher attacked with kicks while Bisping worked his usual stick-and-move style. In fact, it was such an even tempered opening that after about three minutes, the fans started showering the two with boos.

It didn't immediately have an effect on the action inside the cage. The only notable thing to happen before the opening round closed was an eye poke by Belcher that forced a brief stoppage.

Ho hum.

Bisping's strategy started paying off into the second. Sure, Belcher wasn't taking a lot of damage, but he was getting hit plenty and he wasn't returning fire nearly enough. If nothing else, "The Count" was winning with volume.

In the end, the bout came to a close under seriously unfortunate circumstances. Late in the third, Bisping had his hands out and ended up scraping Belcher's right eye, forcing a stoppage.

Because, you know, you can't fight when there's blood filling your eyeball.

Due to the fact that the eye poke was ruled accidental, the judges were called on to give their scores for the bout. Bisping was awarded the decision, one he earned, eye poke or not.

For complete results and blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 159 event click here.