UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le

Michael Bisping (25-6) vs. Cung Le (9-2)

Michael Bisping looks to bounce back from a loss as he goes up against Cung Le in China on Saturday.

That April 16 fight against Tim Kennedy was a hard-fought match that saw Kennedy eventually get the victory over Bisping by way of unanimous decision. When in the octagon, Bisping is one of the toughest fighters out there, and he will not back down from anybody. The 35-year-old from Manchester, England has faced some of the best fighters in the sport, such as Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson. That experience could play a big role in this fight as Bisping goes up against Cung Le, who is a dangerous opponent. Le comes into this fight with two straight victories, including a dominating victory against Rich Franklin in his last UFC match way back on Nov. 10, 2012. In that bout, the 42-year-old from San Jose delivered a vicious knockout punch just 2:17 into the first round. Despite the age, Le is still very athletic and also possesses the knockout power to win the fight. With the loss to Kennedy, look for BISPING to come into this match ready to go. He has never lost consecutive fights in his career, and on Saturday, he will continue that trend with a convincing victory against Le.

"The Count" Bisping has 25 victories in his career, with 16 of them coming by way of knockout. He also has three submission wins with the other six victories by decision. He is 10-5 in the middleweight division. On paper, this is a very even match as the two competitors are very similar in every striking category. They are very close when it comes to landing significant strikes (4.7 for Le, 4.3 for Bisping), while Le is more accurate when throwing those punches (51% to 40%). However, a lot of that is because Bisping can become careless and start getting wild with his strikes. When he is locked in, he has devastating knockout power, and can win a match in an instant. If he is able to stay focused and not get careless, he has a great chance to get the victory, but he has dropped three of his past five fights. He also knows that Le is experienced enough to take advantage of mistakes and pull off the major upset.

Like Bisping, the majority of Le’s victories have come by way knockout. He has nine victories in his MMA career, with eight of them coming by way of knockout. His other win was by decision on July 7, 2012 versus Patrick Cote. Le, who is a perfect 17-0 with 12 KO's in his kickboxing career, will have a huge advantage in the takedown game. He has a sizable edge in both takedown accuracy (71% for Le, compared to 46% for Bisping) and takedown defense (89% for Le, compared to 63% for Bisping). While he is very good at striking his opponents, his best chance of winning this match is by taking Bisping to the ground and wearing him out. If he is able to control the fight, the 5-foot-10 Le (four inches shorter than 6-foot-2 Bisping) will have a great chance to get the win.