How UFC 85 was saved

After Michael Bisping beat Charles McCarthy on April 19 in Montreal, he talked about how great he felt coming out of the fight and how he was ready to go out and fight again.

Usually that's a figure of speech. But he had barely landed back in his native England the next day when he got an e-mail from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva asking if he really meant it and could he fight on June 7 at the O2 Arena in London.

More than anyone else, Bisping was needed on the show, since main eventer Chuck Liddell had suffered a torn hamstring, and his main event with Rashad Evans was off.

UFC literally contacted every top fighter not already advertised on other dates trying to replace its biggest drawing card, including calls early in the week to Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin. But with the arena almost sold out, and all the advertising based around Liddell's United Kingdom debut, Bisping, the company's popular British fighter, was the only one who could come close to being a satisfactory replacement for local fans.

A few days later he was given Chris Leben, 18-4, as his opponent. Leben presents an intriguing stylistic match-up with the 16-1 Bisping. Both fighters like to stand. Bisping has the better technical stand-up and figures to have the edge if it goes the distance. But Leben is more a wild brawler who can take a shot. He's only been knocked out once, and that was by Anderson Silva, ranked No. 1 in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings. Leben is never out of a fight, because he's got good knockout power, and has the conditioning to deliver it at any point in the fight.

"He's a brawler," said Bisping. "I'd like to fight against someone who isn't looking to take me down. He's tough. He has a good chin and he hits hard. He's coming off some good knockout wins and it makes sense."

Silva recently underwent an undisclosed operation and hasn't given UFC a timetable on when he'll be available to fight. There is an issue regarding a potential fight with Roy Jones Jr., since UFC refused to allow the match and didn't like him talking abut it. But Silva has continued to talk about Jones as an opponent, largely to the exclusion of everyone else.

New welterweight champion St. Pierre was offered a title defense with Jon Fitch, but felt his hands were damaged in his win over Matt Serra in Montreal and he couldn't be ready in such a short period of time. Franklin, who also fought in Montreal, was offered a match with Dan Henderson, but felt after such a hard training camp that he wouldn't be able to peak again so soon. Both fights are expected to take place later this year.

Hughes, 43-6, agreed to face Thiago Alves, 20-4, in what will be advertised in the U.S. market for pay-per-view as the new main event, since Hughes is established as a successful headliner.

"Last Tuesday I was at practice and I did the whole practice, I didn't just coach," said Hughes, who recently opened a gym in St. Louis that's far closer to his home in Hillsboro, Ill., than Pat Miletich's gym in Davenport, Iowa, which Hughes has been synonymous with as its top star for most of the past decade.

"When my boys ran sprints, I ran sprints, and everything I taught them, I did as well. So from there I kinda got the itch too where I said, 'Hey, I'm not in bad shape,' and my plan was to start getting ready to return. Then Dana (UFC President Dana White) called and I didn't hesitate to take the fight."

Hughes was originally slated to next face Matt Serra, who took enough of a beating from St. Pierre that there was no way he would be ready for London. But Hughes vs. Serra is a grudge match coming off the Ultimate Fighter reality show, and whether Hughes wins or loses against Alves, it has little effect on interest in that match.

For Alves, the match is a career maker. He's riding a five-match winning streak, and stopping Hughes, an established legend in the sport, would virtually guarantee his next fight would be for the welterweight championship.

While the new version of the show is stronger and deeper than the original, Liddell can't be replaced when it comes to the U.S. pay-per-view box office since Alves doesn't have the name recognition to be a drawing card.

"Thiago is coming off a big win against Karo Parisyan, so honestly, I'll probably look to take him down, try to wear him out and get him a little slower because he's got such quick punches, knees and kicks," said Hughes, a two-time welterweight champion whose hopes for a title shot appear slim after St. Pierre thoroughly dominated him. "I think strength will come into play, me being bigger than he is, but I'm glad to fight Thiago."

Unlike other fighters on the Montreal show, Bisping jumped at the chance, saying he likes to fight often. He was even happier it will be in his home country.

The Liverpool native noted that his match with McCarthy was originally scheduled for a show in Manchester, England, and when that show was canceled, it was moved to Montreal. Because Montreal was so close in dates to London, he was going to have to miss that show as well.

"It's only six weeks away," said Bisping. "I took a week off but I'm starting back on Monday. I feel right now that I'm in great shape. I was in fantastic shape a week ago and I can get back. I like to stay busy and fight as regularly as possible."

Bisping visually looked in far better condition at 185 pounds for the first time in his career after always fighting at light heavyweight. He said he made weight easily, and didn't need to spend any time in the sauna. Sometimes being ripped and showing abs doesn't necessarily mean a better gas tank, but Bisping said in his case the look wasn't deceiving.

"I felt warming up that I was in the best shape of my life," he said. "I had so much energy that I felt like no one on Earth could stop me at 185."

Bisping finished McCarthy at the end of the first round, surviving a scary moment when McCarthy came close with an armbar, but coming back with more than two dozen knees in the last minute of the round. McCarthy at first looked like he was saved by the horn, but he took enough punishment that he couldn't get up after the round and it was called off. McCarthy announced his retirement from fighting a few days later.

Bisping's last appearance at the O2 Arena was probably the most famous match of his career. It was a split decision win over Matt Hamill which, partially because it was on Spike TV and still is the third most watched MMA match ever in the U.S., probably resulted in more furor than any decision in MMA history.

"We all have bad performances," he said about a fight that is listed as a win, but was viewed by most viewers as a loss. "I was overtrained. He fought a good fight and took it to me. They say you're only as good as your last fight, well, my last fight was a win so I think we're past that."

Evans, 16-0-1, will now face James "Sandman" Irvin, 14-4 with one no contest. Irvin is coming off tying the UFC record for quickest knockout win with an eight-second upset over Houston Alexander on April 2, in Broomfield, Colo.

Liddell, meanwhile, hopes to be back for a show in September. His likely opponents would either be Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who he was originally scheduled to face in London before Rua had surgery for a torn ACL, or more likely whoever wins the May 24 match between Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine.

Liddell beat Silva in one of last year's best matches on December 29. Jardine upset Liddell via split decision in September.