With the Octagon coming to Scotland for the very first time, Bisping and Leites capped off an entertaining night of fights with a closely fought battle that pushed both warriors to their limits.
Employing constant movement throughout the duration of their fight, Bisping kept Leites guessing by mixing up his array of technical strikes. A multi-level approach was key here as the Brit scored with the judges with a never-ending barrage of precision shots to the head and body, and frequent use of kicks to Leites’ lead leg. Ever the elusive middleweight, Bisping got his strikes in, and for the majority of the fight, was able to get out before his Brazilian adversary was able to retaliate fully.
A first degree dan in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Leites made little attempt to utilise his obvious advantage. With a couple of half-measure takedown attempts stuffed, the former title contender instead decided to rely on his vastly improved striking, but it came with mixed results. Unable to really connect with anything special for the most part, Leites did manage to find success in the third and final rounds when he pushed Bisping against the cage and unloaded with a flurry of blows, but it just wasn’t enough to put the Brit away.
Successfully negating Leites’ main weapon and surviving his contingency striking flurries proved to be just enough for Bisping as he earned a split decision nod from the judges. A close, but well-earned victory that keeps him undefeated in his homeland, and also sees the Manchester-native string back-to-back victories for the first time since 2011.
Now at 36 years of age, Bisping would love nothing more than one final push for the title, and inspired by the recent challenges of fellow veterans Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfot, there is a small chance that the Brit could finally land that title shot he’s always dreamed of. There’s a long way to go to make that happen though, but in the crazy world of mixed martial arts just about anything is possible.
UFC Fight Night 72 Main Card Results
Lightweight
Steven Ray def Leonardo Mafra via TKO (punches) in round 1
Welterweight
Leon Edwards def Pawel Pawlak via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Women's Strawweight
Joanne Calderwood def Cortney Casey via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Lightweight
Joseph Duffy def Ivan Jorge via submission (triangle choke) in round 1
Lightweight
Evan Dunham def Ross Pearson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Middleweight
Michael Bisping def Thales Leites via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47)
What did you think of the fight and this Fight Night in general? Leave your comments and analysis below!
