Both Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold popped off at the mouth for months leading into their middleweight showdown at tonight's (Nov. 7, 2014) UFC Fight Night 55 event at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia on UFC Fight Pass. There were many threats lobbed back and forth and they finally got the chance to carry them out inside the cage in a battle of top 10 185-pound title contender hopefuls.
Then again, Rockhold claimed there would be no glove touch and there was.
The first round was appropriately bizarre, featuring plenty of talk between the two thanks to what appeared to be an unintentional headbutt. That didn't stop "The Count" from playing it up quite a bit, though in fairness he had suffered an injury near his eye in training camp.
There was a reset and yet another issue when referee Herb Dean ordered a restart in a bodylock position. Bisping was resistant but it was ultimately futile.
By the end of the first round, Rockhold looked calm and collected with a measured, confident attack. Bisping, meanwhile, was wild; frantic, even. Luke may not have kept his promise to finish it in the opening frame, but he was quite clearly ahead going into the second.
It wasn't long into the second that Rockhold landed a head kick while Bisping was ducking down. That put the Brit down and as he was scrambling to his feet, Rockhold applied a one-armed guillotine and finished the job.
Impressive.
After, the two shook hands and professed how much respect they have for each other. So, as usual, they just needed to get inside the Octagon and settle their differences in combat. Or, as Bisping put it, "more power to the motherfucker."
Right on.
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