UFC London Quick Results: Bisping Wins Big in England

On Saturday night (Saturday afternoon in North America), the UFC made its eighth return to beautiful London, England. This return, which was headlined by a long-awaited middleweight bout between former champ Anderson Silva and British star Michael Bisping, aired entirely on UFC Fight Pass, and was billed as the biggest event in the streaming service's history.

Over the course of the 13-fight card, viewers were treated to action in six of the UFC's most exciting divisions, and witnessed strong performances from some of Europe's finest MMA talent. Packed to the edges with all the knockouts, submissions and surprises we crave, the organization's return to The Big Smoke will not soon be forgotten.

Here's a recap of the action for those who missed it!

The Main Card:

Bisping Sneaks Past Silva in Unforgettable Fight

For much of Anderson Silva's legendary run as UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping resided just outside title contention. Though the Brit always stood out as an elite middleweight, he just couldn't seem to earn himself a shot. In London's main event, there was no title on the line, but Bisping finally got his crack at the former middleweight king—and it was well worth the wait.

Rounds one and two, surprisingly, saw Bisping stagger the former champion on two occasions, while keeping himself out of trouble with good head movement and footwork. Round three, however, was absolute chaos for the Brit.

At the end of a close round, Bisping's mouthpiece fell out. As he gestured to Herb Dean that he'd like to retrieve it, Silva rocked him with a series of punches, only to crash into him with a jump knee as the round ended. Thinking he'd won, Silva then leapt onto the cage in celebration, while Bisping sat in a dazed heap not far away. And yet Herb Dean assured the fight was in fact, still on.

And so the two middleweight greats returned for a fourth round. In that round, Silva began to turn it on, showing flashes of his former brilliance, battering Bisping with punches and even a front kick to the chin. Bisping, however, survived to close out the fight with a strong fifth round, and wrap things up with three rounds apparently in his favor. The end result: a wild, unanimous win for the Brit on his home turf.

With the win, which is undoubtedly the biggest of his career, Bisping moves onto a three-fight streak, and may well have earned himself a shot at the winner of Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman's looming rematch. He's now 29-7 overall, and owns a division-best 14 wins at middleweight.

Silva, meanwhile, remains winless since a late 2012 defeat of Stephan Bonnar. While the former champ showed flashes of brilliance in this fight, it's quite clear that his best days are behind him. He's now 33-7 overall.

Mousasi Out-Strikes Leites to Decision

When we last saw Thales Leites, he lost a razor-thin decision to Michael Bisping in Scotland. When we last saw Gegard Mousasi, he was snuffed by Uriah Hall in Japan. In the co-main event of the UFC's return to London, the two middleweight veterans looked to get back on track against one another.

This one was all Mousasi. Just minutes into the fight, the veteran's takedown defense had already proved sufficient to negate any of Leites' attempts. That meant that Leites, who packs power but lacks finesse, was forced to duke it out with one of the division's best strikers for three rounds. This, not surprisingly, did not go well for the Brazilian. By the time the final horn sounded, Leites was black and blue, and a typically sedate Mousasi had done more than enough to earn a lopsided unanimous decision.

With the win, Mousasi returns to the win column, and moves to an impressive overall record of 38-6. And while this victory wasn't his most exciting, it certainly reaffirms his status as one of the game's premier middleweights.

In defeat, Leites enters his first two-fight skid since a pair of losses to Anderson Silva and Alessio Sakara sent him packing from the UFC in 2009. He's now 25-6 overall, and 5-2 in his second run with the organization.

Breese Ekes Past Nakamura in Grappling Spectacle

The second bout of London's main card paired Japan's Keita Nakamura, who you'll remember for a come-from-behind defeat of Jingliang Li in September, with England's Tom Breese, who stands out as one of the most promising young talents in the UFC welterweight division.

Despite being one of the biggest underdogs of the night, Nakamura made this one a fight by completing three takedowns and threatening with a second-round omoplata. Unfortunately for the Japanese veteran, Breese's substantially larger striking output and 7-plus minutes of control time were more than enough to sway the judges.

With the unanimous decision win, which is the first decision on his record, the Brit stays perfect at 10-0. He's now 3-0 in the UFC, and though he showed some shortcomings in this London bout, remains a bona fide prospect at welterweight. Nakamura, meanwhile, has a five-fight streak snapped by the loss. He'll return to Japan with a 31-7-2 overall record, and a 1-1 mark on the sport's biggest stage.

Pickett Edges Rivera in Fantastic Bantamweight Scrap

The main card was kicked off by veteran punchers Brad Pickett and Francisco Rivera, who met in a fantastic bit of bantamweight matchmaking. The fight marked Pickett's chance to rebound from three straight losses, and Rivera's opportunity to get back on track after a September submission loss to John Lineker. In the lead-up to this card, many considered this fight a likely candidate for Fight of the Night honors, and those predictions proved justified.

For three rounds, the two bantamweights slugged it out, rocking each other with slick counter punches, pummeling each other's legs with kicks, and scoring with expertly-time takedowns. And though Rivera's substantially higher striking output does render it somewhat debatable, the verdict was an emotional, split decision win for England's Pickett.

The win, which is Pickett's 25th as a pro, moves him to 25-11 overall and 5-6 in the UFC. And though he certainly seems to be nearing the end of the road, the victorious Brit assured commentator Dan Hardy that, having won this London bout, he intends to keep fighting.

With the debatable loss, Rivera falls to 11-6 overall, and a tough 1-4 in his last 5. That said, the 34-year-old Californian has established himself as one of the most consistently exciting fighters on the roster.

The Prelims:

Amirkhani Grapples Wilkinson to Unanimous Decision

The prelims were wrapped up by a grudge-infused featherweight bout between "Mr. Finland," Makwan Amirkhani, and the injury-prone Mike Wilkinson, who was making just his fourth appearance of a three-year career with the UFC.

The story of this one was Amirkhani's world-class grappling. While Wilkinson was able to threaten with a trio of submission attempts, Amirkhani was fantastic with his takedowns and reversals, which ultimately led him to 9:59 of control time—certainly the recipe for a unanimous decision if ever there was one.

With the unanimous win, Amirkhani moves to 3-0 in the UFC featherweight division and continues to emerge as one of the division's hottest prospects. He's now 13-2 overall. In defeat, Wilkinson falls to 2-2 in the UFC, and 9-2 overall.

Grant and Goddard Pummel Chito to Unanimous Decision

The second last preliminary bout of the night saw England's Davey Grant and Ecuador's Marlon "Chito" Vera meet in a compelling bantamweight clash.

By the time the final horn sounded, Vera had taken a sizeable beating—from Grant and referee Marc Goddard. From Grant, the Ecuadorian received 120 total strikes, which opened him up and painted both fighters red. From Goddard, he received a handful of warnings for grabbing his opponent's gloves, which resulted in a third-round point deduction. Needless to say, the judges sided unanimously with Grant.

With the unanimous win, Grant makes a successful return to action after more than 2 years on the shelf. The Brit is now 10-2 overall, and 1-1 in the UFC. Vera, meanwhile, returns to the loss column after an August defeat of Roman Salazar. He's now 1-2 in the UFC, and 7-3-1 overall.

Askham Scores Walk-Off KO of Dempsey

The second of London's four middleweight bouts paired England's Scott Askham with Pennsylvania's Chris Dempsey. The American's visit to the UK did not turn out to be a good one.

Despite some success in the bout's opening minutes, Dempsey was eventually force-fed a blistering straight left, before being shut off altogether by a highlight-reel Askham head kick. The American woke up under the Jumbotron, while the Brit walked off with his hands in the air.

With the spectacular knockout win, Askham rebounds from an October decision loss to Krzysztof Jotko. He's now 14-2 overall, and 2-2 across 4 UFC bouts. Dempsey, meanwhile, experiences his third knockout loss in four fights. He's now 11-4 overall, and a tough 1-3 in the Octagon.

Allen Dominates Meza to One-Sided Unanimous Decision

The 22-year-old Arnold Allen, who now sharpens his tools at Tristar in Montreal, is one of England's brightest shining prospects. In London, the young featherweight faced a stark test in the 35-year-old Yaotzin Meza. He passed that test with flying colors.

The 22-year-old dominated the fight from bell-to-bell, landing the more meaningful strikes, shrugging off his opponent's takedowns, and scoring three of his own. And finally, as if any further emphasis was needed, the young Brit seemed to knock his opponent out as the final horn sounded. Unfortunately, however, he wasn't quite fast enough, which meant a unanimous decision win rather than a knockout.

With this dominant performance, Allen moves to 12-1 overall, and 2-0 in the UFC. Meza, meanwhile, is now 21-11 overall, and 2-4 since making a short notice UFC debut against Chad Mendes in 2012.

Jotko Cruises Past Scott in Fun Fight

The first of London's four middleweight bouts saw Poland's Krzysztof Jotko mix it up with England's own Bradley Scott, who now trains out of the MMA Lab in Arizona.

Over the course of the fight, Scott was generally the man pushing forward. Jotko, however, landed the more meaningful strikes throughout, including a number of nice elbows, which proved enough to earn him a unanimous decision victory.

With the win, the 26-year-old Jotko will return to Poland with a fantastic 17-1 overall record, and a 4-1 mark inside the Octagon. Scott, who is also 26, returns to the loss column after a May submission of Dylan Andrews. He's now 10-4 overall, and 2-3 in the UFC.

Khabilov Edges Parke in Close Fight

The early prelims were closed out by an interesting lightweight bout between Dagestan's Rustam Khabilov and Northern Ireland's Norman Parke. The fight marked Khabilov's opportunity to rebound from back-to-back losses, while Parke looked to construct a two-fight win-streak.

While Parke had a strong second round, Khabilov's efforts in the first and third, which saw him complete 4 takedowns and amass almost 5 minutes of control time, proved enough to sway the judges. He'll leave London with a split decision win.

The victory is Khabilov's first since November of 2013, when he defeated Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision. He's now a 4-2 in the UFC, and a strong 18-3 overall. Parke, meanwhile, returns to the loss column with an overall record of 21-5-1. He's now 5-3-1 in the UFC, with all three of his losses in the promotion coming by split decision.

Groin-Shot Gives Omielanczuk Technical Decision Win

The card's lone heavyweight bout paired Polish juggernaut Daniel Omielanczuk with the debuting Jarjis Danho.

Despite an exciting first round, this one took an ugly turn in the third. As the two fighters exchanged in close against the cage, Omielanczuk landed a grazing blow to Danho's groin, which would eventually cause the debutant to bow out of the fight. Given that the foul occurred in the third round, this resulted in the fight's being scored as a technical decision—which the judges would award to the Pole.

With this strange win, Omielanczuk moves onto a two-fight streak. He's now 3-2 in the UFC, and 17-6-1 overall. Danho, meanwhile experiences his first pro loss. He's now 6-1 and will likely have a difficult living this low moment down.

Packalen Scores Lightning-Fast Sub

The second bout of the evening came courtesy of the lightweight division, as Finland's Teemu Packalen mixed it up with France's Thibault Gouti. This one was all Packalen.

After stunning his opponent with an uppercut in the bout's opening seconds, the Finnish fighter leapt into position for a rear-naked choke. Moments later, Thibault was tapping. The end came just 24 seconds into the first frame.

Having lost his UFC debut to Mickael Lebout, this performance marks Packalen's first UFC win. He now boasts an overall record of 8-1. Thibault, meanwhile, will return to France with his first professional loss. He's now 11-1 overall and will have to wait for his first UFC win.

Teymur Uppercut Smokes Svensson

London's first bout paired Swedish lightweights Martin Svensson and David Teymur in an intriguing clash of styles.

This one came down to Teymur's striking skill—or perhaps more accurately, Svensson's lack thereof. After a strong first round, Teymur clobbered an advancing Svensson with a rocket-fueled uppercut, and in the subsequent moments, polished him off with a series of ground strikes.

The second-round TKO marks Teymur's first UFC win, and moves him to 4-1 overall. Svensson, meanwhile, comes up short in his debut and loses for the first time since 2013. He's now 14-6 overall.