UFC Fight Night London results: Michael Bisping defeats Anderson Silva in controversial main event

In the main event of the evening, in which the first round outshone the entire card, it only escalated from there. Bisping and Silva put on an incredible show for the O2 crowd, but unfortunately the major talking point, despite the two amazing performances, will be the close of the third round.

A mouthpiece fell out with seconds to go, and Bisping alerted referee Herb Dean to it, but Silva did not slow down, and took advantage of the distraction, landing a vicious knee to the face of Michael Bisping. Bisping went down, and the entire crowd was shocked and confused. The Spider thought he had won, dropping to his knees in the centre of the ring. Herb Dean was quick to acknowledge the fight was not over, and get the fighters back into their corners.

Bisping was dominant the first two rounds, but the incredible punishment dealt in a single blow caused havoc for the rest of the fight. It did not deter though, as Bisping ground out a heart earned, narrow, unanimous decision victory.

Silva, though, controversy-aside, can take heart from what was a great comeback-performance. There were moments his cockiness got the better of him, however. The old-school duck-and-weave style saw the Brazilian caught on a number of occasions, something that simply wouldn’t have happened a few years ago. If Silva does decide to come back, he will need to adapt this into his game and take all the great things he still can do, like unleash devastating strikes, cut off the cage and strike the fear of death into every opponent. If he doesn’t, he will still be remembered as one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, even with a tainted mark on the legacy.

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The end of the fight saw an incredible show of respect between the two fighters, with both hugging and bowing to each other, and that should be the main talking point, more than any controversy in the third round. These were two warriors who fought an incredible fight, and both deserve credit for their immense effort in that cage, not just for tonight, but for their entire careers.

Thales Leites vs Gegard Mousasi - Mousasi via unanimous decision

Despite Leites’ best efforts to pull guard and take this fight to the ground, it was on the feet where the damage would be done. In another disappointing contest, the completion of which was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd, Leites was soundly beating in every aspect.

Mousasi looked hamstrung by Leites’ attempts to turn this into a jiu-jitsu contest, and to be fair to the Brazilian, did take a lot of damage from Mousasi’s punches, visible from the horrific swelling to the left eye.

Another fight that won’t live long in the memory, but it’s a win for Mousasi that can help him move up the middleweight rankings.

Tom Breese vs Keita Nakamura - Breese via unanimous decision

Tom Breese may have got the win against Keita Nakamura, but he certainly won’t have won any new fans in front of the home crowd. Breese improved to a 10-0 record with the decision victory, but he did so in the most uninspiring fashion with a sluggish win over an unwilling opponent in Nakamura, who didn’t seem keen to let his hands go on the feet nor try and do much on the ground, either.

Boos could be heard on multiple occasions during the fight, with the crowd desperate for something to happen. Breese was apologetic in the post-fight interview, and said that at the very least, he gained some cage-time from this match, which acts as consolation. A win is a win, though, and the young fighter should not be discouraged as his career continues in the right direction.

Brad Pickett vs Francisco Rivera - Pickett via split decision

A hearty performance from the hometown hero was enough to secure a split decision win in the first fight of the main card. In a scrappy and hard-fought contest, Pickett grew into the bout, looking second best in the early exchanges, but certainly had his best moments in the third, securing multiple takedowns and looking dominant.

Early exchanges between the two were vicious, with both fighters landing solid blows, but it was Rivera who got the better connections more frequently, leading Rivera to rightly feel aggrieved at not picking up the win, as he left the cage in tears. As has always been said: never leave it in the hands of the judges.

Undercard

Martin Svensson vs David Teymur - Teymur via second round TKO

In a dominant performance from David Teymur, the Swede took control from the opening bell and ended the fight quickly in the second round with a swift knockout. Svensson looked hesitant with every punch thanks to Teymur’s vicious counters, making all of Svensson’s work look lazy and slow.

Svensson was taken down late in the first, and will probably be thankful he didn’;t have to take further punishment.

Teymur couldn’t hide his excitement after the fight. “I am so, so happy. I cannot compare this feeling to anything right now. This is the best feeling of my life. Now I will celebrate with my family. London, I am here!"

Packelan vs Gouti - Peckalan via first round submission

This fight didn’t last long as Packelan landed a vicious uppercut that put Gouti on the floor. Gouti then quickly gave up his back and the Fin sunk in a guillotine choke. 24 seconds was all it took.

“I am speechless. I am very happy,” Packelan said in the post fight interviews, which probably took longer than the fight itself.

Daniel Omielanczuk vs Jarjis Danho - Omielanczuk by decision

In one of the more confusing moments of the evening, an accidental low-blow led to this fight being called to a close early…

Norman Parke vs Rustam Khabilov - Khabilov by unanimous decision

In a very technical encounter, Khabilov had the best of the third and third rounds while Parke enjoyed a strong second. Khabilov showed dominance on the ground aside from a moment at the open of the third where he gave up his back to Parke, with the Northern Irishman desperately trying to sink in a choke, but was unsuccessful and allowed the Russian to turn the tide and do enough to grab the decision win.

Bradley Scott vs Krzysztof Jotko

In what appeared to be a closely fought contest, Jotko took the role of counter-puncher, circling the outside of the Octagon while Scott chased but failed to land any significant punches. Not much to shout about over the course of the contest.

The judges didn’t see this as a close contest, however, awarding Jotko the unanimous decision, with one even awarding Jotko all three rounds.

Arnold Allen vs Yoatzin Meza - Allen via decision

Arnold Allen put on a dominating performance in front of the home crowd, and it was only in the closing 10 seconds of the fight he deciding to truly let his hands go and knocked Meza out, unfortunately it wasn’t in time for the result to be scored a KO. Allen got the unanimous decision, though.

Scott Askham vs Chris Dempsey - Askham by Round One KO

In one of the highlights of the night, both fighters started the contest at full speed and didn’t slow down at all. Askham absorbed some early pressure, with Dempsey looking to use his wrestling to keep the Brit on his back.

However, Askham had other ideas, after getting the fight back standing, Askham landing a mean left hook, leaving the American on jelly legs, to which Scott followed up an even more violent left kick to put the lights out.

Davey grant vs Marlon Vera - Grant via decision

Davey Grant returned to action from a two year absence with a dominant performance, controlling Vera on both the feet and the ground. The only time Vera landed any solid shots was illegally, which referee Marc Goddard quickly clamped down on and consistently warned Cera about, eventually leading to a point deduction at the close of the second round.

Mike Wilkinson vs Makwan Amirkhani

Amirkhani put on a wrestling clinic in this contest, not a single takedown attempt was snuffed by his opponent, Mike Wilkinson, but this still proved to be a hard-fought contest for the Fin.

Wilkinson worked his hardest to get off his back and managed to do so on occasion, but not before the Amirkhani landed some solid ground and pound and did enough to grind out a win on the last fight of the undercard.

UFC Fight Night London - Results

Martin Svensson vs David Teymur - Teymur via second round TKO

Packelan vs Gouti - Peckalan via first round submission

Daniel Omielanczuk vs Jarjis Danho - Omielanczuk via decision

Norman Parke vs Rustam Khabilov - Khabilov by decision

Bradley Scott vs Krzysztof Jotko - Jotko via decision

Arnold Allen vs Yoatzin Meza - Allen via decision

Scott Askham vs Chris Dempsey - Askham by first round KO

Mike Wilkinson vs Makwan Amirkhani - Amirkhani via decision

Brad Pickett vs Francisco Rivera - Pickett via split decision

Tom Breese vs Keita Nakamura - Breese via decision

Gegard Mousasi vs Thales Leites - Mousasi via decision

Michael Bisping vs Anderson Silva - Bisping via decision