Fans of mixed martial arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are counting down the days until October 18th. On that day, UFC 89 will take place in the city of Birmingham, England and be held at the National Indoor Arena.

The headlining fight matches up middleweights Michael Bisping and Chris Leben. Bisping, who is from the United Kingdom, will have the home arena advantage over Leben, who is from Portland, Oregon. Bisping has a professional record of 16-1, with his lone losing coming in a controversial decision against Rashad Evans. The emotional Leben has a record of 18-4, however he has lost three of his last six fights.

Joining Bisping and Leben on the main card are five other fights, which feature two light heavyweight bouts, two welterweight bouts and one heavyweight bout. The heavyweight fight has undefeated American Shane Carwin putting his 9-0 record on the line against undefeated Englishman Neil Wain. Wain, who is 4-0, was scheduled to fight in UFC 85 but he had to cancel due to a broken nose.

The welterweight bouts on the UFC main card feature two fights that pit an American against an Englishman. In one of the matchups, 35-year-old American Marcus Davis goes against 22-year-old Paul Kelly of Liverpool, England. The other matchup has Chris “Lights Out” Lytle of Indianapolis fighting Paul Taylor of Walsall, England.

The main card’s light heavyweight bouts also feature some exciting matchups. In one fight, two Americans go at it when Keith Jardine takes on Brandon Vera. The other fight has Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou of Cameroon going up against Luis Cane of Brazil.

The preliminary card has five fights. Of the ten fighters, three are from France, two are from Sweden, two are from England and one each from the United States, Canada and Japan.

For those looking to watch UFC 89, Setanta Sports will show it in Great Britain, while Spike TV will air it in the United States. For UFC 90, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will return to the U.S. and will take place in Rosemont, Illinois.

Tags: Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, UFC, ufc 89, ultimate fighting championship
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