Bisping uses bout as barometer for Silva

Large, dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but there was no betraying the emotion with which Quinton "Rampage" Jackson spoke. Jackson was discussing the prospects of his friend and training partner Michael Bisping at middleweight.

Jackson, who recently signed a three-year deal with the same U.K.-based Wolfslair Academy that manages Bisping, suggested Bisping is a legitimate UFC title contender in the middleweight division.

"I don't see anyone at 185 he can't beat," Jackson said.

That raised a few eyebrows, given that the 185-pound division is the home of the world's pound-for-pound top fighter, UFC champion Anderson Silva. Jackson pretended to get agitated, sighed, then peered down over the top of his glasses as he spoke.

"I don't," he said sternly and slowly, "see anyone at 185 he can't beat."

Jackson paused and stared his questioner in the eye for a second that seemed like an hour.

"Anyone. And when I say anyone, I mean anyone."

Bisping doesn't have to beat Silva on Saturday when he fights in the main event of UFC 89 in Birmingham, England, a bout that will be televised live in the U.S., on Spike TV. He'll meet hard-hitting Chris Leben, a veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter" and Silva's first victim in the UFC.

Leben had a lofty reputation, particularly for having one of the best chins in mixed martial arts, when Silva needed just 49 seconds to stop him in Silva's UFC debut on June 28, 2006.

It wasn't that he beat Leben that so impressed Bisping and others who saw it; it was the way he overwhelmed him.

Bisping isn't predicting a similar victory, but because he wants to fight for the title some day, matching his performance against a common opponent of Silva's is a barometer for him.

And he concedes that he's considered measuring his performance against Leben against what Silva did in 2006.

"If I said the thought has never crossed my mind, I would be lying," Bisping said. "The thought has crossed my mind. Mixed martial arts being the sport that it is, it doesn't always work like that. Chris Leben could fight Anderson Silva again and, while I'm not saying he'd beat him, he could last a lot, lot longer. So on the one hand, I realize the kind of sport this is, but on the other hand, I do want to finish Chris and I do want to finish him convincingly."

UFC president Dana White insists this bout has Fight of the Year potential. During a recent television taping with the cast of Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Leben said that he felt White didn't care for him and his fighting style.

White was exasperated and at wit's end with Leben. The day before, White had been singing Leben's praises to a reporter who was covering "TUF" event and had insisted the bout with Bisping would be a can't-miss slugfest.

Leben isn't quite sure that Bisping, a Manchester, England, native who will be fighting in front of a raucous home crowd, will be willing to stand and trade punches with him. At the very least, Leben was coyly baiting Bisping into a slugfest.

"If there is one thing that is critical for me in this fight, it's that I cut off the ring," Leben said. "He moves real well, he's longer than me and he throws straight punches. I need to get him up against the cage where I can bang with him. My guess is that Bisping, in front of a British crowd and with British judges, might believe that if he can run, he'll win the fight. And after watching the Matt Hamill fight, I don't believe that to be untrue. I need to get after him."

Bisping moved to middleweight from light heavyweight at the start of 2008 and he's become a finisher. Neither of his two opponents, Charles McCarthy or Jason Day, was around for the second round.

Bisping, who doesn't need much to get him fired up, is eager to make his point to Leben. He's primarily concerned with winning, because he's on a clear path toward a championship shot sometime next year. He's expected to be a coach on Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and may get a title shot later in 2009.

Stopping Leben, who has been stopped only by Silva and Jason MacDonald in 22 fights, would do much to prove his worthiness of a championship appearance.

"Wins are what are most important and I think I have the speed, the skill and the footwork to pick him off," Bisping said. "He sees it differently, obviously.

"To be honest, I think he completely underestimates me. He thinks I'm unable to finish a fight and I don't hit hard. We'll see. I think it's a good match for me. I guess he thinks it's good for him, or he wouldn't be here. But this is the second time I've signed for this fight. I think that tells you what I think. I respect Chris, as I respect all my opponents. But I do have to say I like my chances."