Last night in Quebec, Canada at the UFC ‘TUF Nations Finale’ Middleweight Tim Kennedy ran his record to 3-0 in the UFC by beating long time contender Michael Bisping by unanimous decision. Kennedy closed an underdog at the sportbooks at (+150) so there was some value there. For Bisping, who was calling for a title shot if he won this fight, he must look reality right in the face as he is looking at a potential cut from the UFC roster at this point.
Bisping has long been a quality fighter, and he has owned a top spot on the roster for a long time. It may seem harsh to some, but that longevity may work against him with the UFC’s management of personnel. For the outing prior to Kennedy, his fight with Alan Belcher, Bisping made over $400,000 in base salary (reported as $275,000 for the fight with $150,000 additional for the win). That is a lot of salary for what now amounts to mid-card talent.
That is the other problem with Bisping. Not only has he failed to break through and win a big fight when he has been on the cusp of a title shot, but he really has failed to show advancement in his techniques. With Bisping, what you see is what you get. He is a hard nosed fighter who isn’t scared to take a shot and he is an angry personality who tells it like it is. But is that worth nearly half a million a pop at this point, with a plethora of new talent aboard in the division?
Kennedy is still heading upwards, but he would have benefited more from a finish of Bisping. By going the full five rounds, Kennedy won his first long fight (he had dropped two 5 round matches prior) and he should certainly leap frog Bisping in the rankings, but he also failed to show something new.
With Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi, James Te Huna, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ and Luke Rockhold recently added, Kennedy will likely be facing another tough fight up next as he left something to prove in his win over Bisping.
