Quarterly Rankings
A middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama will serve as the main event for the as-of-yet announced UFC 120 event on October 16 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
UFC President Dana White revealed the news to MMA Fighting today. The bout was first reported by Fighters Only.
White also confirmed two previously reported welterweight bouts, which includes a bout between Dan Hardy and Carlos Condit, which will serve as the night's co-main event. Also confirmed was a bout between unbeaten prospects John Hathaway and Dong Hyun Kim, which is also slated for the main card.
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort was also being considered to face Bisping in the main event of UFC 120, however, it is not known why the bout failed to materialize.
Bisping (19-3) has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts, alternating wins and losses over that span. He most recently notched an unanimous decision win over Dan Miller at UFC 104 in May. The win helped Bisping avoid the first consecutive losses of his career, as he was defeated in his previous bout against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110 in February.
The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner has put together an 9-3 UFC record, scoring other notable Octagon wins over Eric Schafer, Elvis Sinosic, Matt Hamill, Chris Leben and Denis Kang; while suffering his only other UFC and career losses to Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans.
Akiyama (13-2, 2 NC) is fresh off a third round submission loss against Chris Leben at UFC 116 on July 3. Akiyama and Leben both took home an extra $75,000, as their UFC 116 bout was awarded one of two "Fight of the Night" bonuses.
Akiyama is now an even 1-1 with the UFC, as he previously defeated Alan Belcher via split decision in his UFC debut in July 2009 at UFC 100. The loss against Leben was the decorated Judoka's first defeat since suffering his first career loss against Jerome LeBanner in March 2005.
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