An exciting middleweight match-up between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Nate Marquardt appears to be set for a spot on the card at UFC 128 this March in Newark, New Jersey. Though both men are coming off losing performances in their previous bouts there is little doubt the pairing should provide fans with a good deal of entertainment based on the experience and well-rounded skills both will enter the Octagon with.

News of the face-off and attached event were reported by ESPN. It was also stated verbal agreements have been made and contracts are en route.

Prior to the 30-10-2 Marquardt’s unanimous decision defeat to Yushin Okami last November at UFC 122 he had won four of his last five fights and appeared to potentially be in line for another crack at the promotion’s 185-pound championship. He has found in-ring success against a number of notable opponents including Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann, and Kazuo Misaki in his career and has only been finished a single time in the last seven years.

Akiyama also found himself on the losing end of the judges’ scorecards in his last fight, a headlining scrap at UFC 120 against Michael Bisping this past October. It was the second consecutive defeat for the man dubbed “Sexyama” with the other being his highly-memorable throwdown with Chris Leben at UFC 116. He holds an overall record of 13-3 and beaten respectable foes like Alan Belcher, Melvin Manhoef, and Denis Kang.

The middleweight duo will join light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at the March 19 show, who is defending his belt against Rashad Evans, with Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Jim Miller, Kurt Pellegrino, and others also attached to the card.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
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Michael Bisping entered the Octagon Saturday to the echoes of Blur’s “Song 2 (Woo Hoo)” and may have ended up exiting London’s O2 Arena singing along to the infamous two-word refrain as well due to both his win over respected competitor Yoshihiro Akiyama at the event and a $60,000 check earned for his respective role in their joint “Fight of the Night” effort. Likewise, Akiyama was also the recipient of sixty-grand for his showing against the British star.

News of the bonus was announced at the UFC 120 post-event press conference. In addition to the main-eventers’ windfall, two other fighters took home $60,000 for their individual performances.

As many might have suspected would be the case when the finish occurred, Carlos Condit’s flattening of Dan Hardy was named “Knockout of the Night”. Condit’s perfectly placed punch with less than a minute remaining in the bout’s opening round not only earned him the extra money, but resulted in his third consecutive victory in the Octagon as well as the first defeat by way of knockout in Hardy’s 31-fight career.

Finally, undefeated newcomer Paul Sass’ Triangle Choke of Mark Holst on the event’s undercard was awarded “Submission of the Night”. The move is undoubtedly one the 22-year old is comfortable with, as eight of his eleven total career victories have now come by way of the same technique.
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Did you miss what turned out to be an excellent card last night from the O2 Arena in London?

Michael Bisping managed to hang on to a final shred of relevance against Yoshihiro Akiyama, but fellow Brit Dan Hardy found himself heading in the opposite direction after his result against former WEC champ Carlos Condit.

Have no fear, we scoured the web to find you replays of those fights, and if you did miss them, you owe it to yourself to check them out at the links below:

MICHAEL BISPING vs. YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA

DAN HARDY vs. CARLOS CONDIT

JOHN HATHAWAY vs. MIKE PYLE

TRAVIS BROWNE vs. CHEICK KONGOSimilar Posts:

• Watch the UFC 120 Post Fight Press Conference Here Tonight
• Watch the UFC 120 Pre Fight Press Conference Here Today
• UFC 120 Quick Results From London – Spoilers Included
• UFC 120 Weigh-In Results
• What Will It Take to Make UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama Interesting?

Having a hard time getting your mojo on over “UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama?”

Aired on Spike TV free via same-day tape-delay, the fight features British mainstays Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy taking on (respectively) Yoshihiro Akiyama and Carlos Condit.

If the pure spectacle of the fights from O2 Arena in London won’t do it for you, then maybe a gaming interest will generate some juice.

Bisping, who became a bit of a sensation in the British Isles by charging out to 14-0 to start his MMA career, has now gone 2-2 over his last four fights. His last outing, a unanimous decision victory over Dan Miller at UFC 114, moved his record to a gaudy 19-3 but left fans wondering if he has the right stuff to compete in the UFC.

For his part in the fracas, Akiyama comes off a loss to journeyman Chris Leben via submission in his last outing at UFC 116. Since he ventured across the Pacific back in 2009 to great fanfare, Sexyama is a not-so-awesome 1-1 inside the Octagon, and a loss to Bisping would leave him in the wilds with the UFC, judo or no judo.

The latest lines for the fight look something like this:

John Hathaway -600
Mike Pyle +400

Dan Hardy -165
Carlos Condit +135

Michael Bisping -225
Yoshihiro Akiyama +185

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• Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama booked for UFC 120
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• UFC 120 Weigh-In Results

A lightweight contest between Mark Holst and Paul
Sass is now official, and the UFC 120 lineup is now
complete with 11 bouts.

MMAjunkie.com previously confirmed plans for the contest, and
the UFC recently announced the bout as official for UFC 120's
preliminary card.

Featuring a middleweight contest pitting "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner
Michael Bisping against Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama, UFC 120 takes
place Oct. 16 at The O2 in London.

UFC light-heavyweight fighter “The Polish Experiment” himself, Krzysztof Soszynski (21-10-1) will host today’s UFC Fight Club Q&A session in San Diego, Calif. You can watch it streamed live beginning at 5 PM EST (2 PM PST) and then catch the live weigh-ins for “UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko” afterwords.

Visit UFC.com/Live to catch the Q& A with Soszynski and the weigh-ins after.

Soszynski is coming off a second round loss to “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar at UFC 116, a back-to-back rematch between both men after Bonnar lost the first bout via TKO (cut) due to an inadvertent headbutt. Their UFC 116 bout had Bonnar stopping “The Polish Experiment” via TKO (punches) at 3:08 of the second, a fight which earned both men the “Fight of the Night” honor. An award that was also won by the co-main event headliners Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama.

The UFC will hold its first-ever European-based MMA exposition in
conjunction with October's UFC 120 event, the organization today
announced.

As MMAjunkie.com first reported
UFC Fan Expo London 2010 will be held Friday and Saturday, October
15-16, at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre with meet-and-greet sessions
with UFC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events,
training and development sessions, and other activities.

Featuring a middleweight contest between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro
Akiyama, UFC 120 takes place October 16 at the O2 Arena in London.

UFC 120 will be shown on Spike TV on October 16 when the promotion heads to the O2 Arena in London England and will feature a main event bout between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama. The fight will be tape-delayed but The MMA News will carry live results for the event.

Other notables on the card include Dan Hardy and Carlos Condit who will fight for a chance to move up the welterweight ladder and an eventual shot at champion GSP.

Here’s the card, as it stands:

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Michael Bisping
Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy
John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle
Travis Browne vs. Cheick Kongo
James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick

Steven Cantwell vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson

As has long been rumored, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to
England on Oct. 16 when the O2 Arena hosts UFC 120.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the potential date and
venue for the Spike TV-broadcast event in May.

As previously reported, a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama headlines
the event.

A welterweight match-up between TUF 9 Champion James Wilks and Claude Patrick has been booked for UFC 120.

News of the bout comes from Mauro Ranallo’s “The Fight Show,” citing sources close to the promotion.

UFC 120 is expected to take place from The O2 Arena in London on October 16.

Wilks (7-3) will be looking to improve upon a recent unanimous decision victory over Peter Sobotta following a TKO defeat at the hands of Matt Brown, while Patrick (12-1) is currently riding an 11-fight win streak that includes a successful UFC debut against Ricardo Funch where he won via guillotine choke.

Also expected for UFC 120, though yet to be made official through the promotion, is Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy.