UFC 105 Preview: Denis Kang vs. Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping 17-2 (7-2 UFC) vs. Denis Kang 32-11 (1-1 UFC):

The Story So Far:

Denis Kang was 7-7 at one point in his career.  That would make him 25-4 in his last 29 fights which is pretty impressive in my book, especially considering he fought in PRIDE and now the UFC.  Despite a strong record and fighting in two of the most competitive organizations in MMA history Kang is not considered a top Middleweight.  The reason for this is that Kang is the MMA version of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  His great skill set is on full display when playing weaker competition, but he cannot win the big ones.  His four losses since his 7-7 start are against Gegard Mousasi (8^th ranked Light Heavyweight), Yoshihiro Akiyama (10^th ranked middleweight), Kazuo Misaki (11^th ranked middleweight), and Alan Belcher.  Belcher is not highly ranked, but loss to Akiyama via split decision and looks to be a rapidly improving fighter.  Kang split his first two UFC fights and is coming off a unanimous decision win against Professor X (do not feel like looking up how to spell his name).  Putting two wins in a row and beating a fighter as popular as Bisping in England would be a huge win.  It would not place him near a title shot, but it would be a marquee win and provide him with a name to the casual fan.  Being well known can make a huge difference, just ask his opponent.

Michael Bisping was the poster boy for the UFC and their push in the UK and it worked.  Bisping won TUF season three.  However, after a bullshit close decision win over Matt Hamil and a decision loss to Rashad Evans he decided to drop down to Middleweight.  Bisping then won three straight fights against poor comletition and became the coach of the British team on TUF.  The show ended with a number one contender fight, at least for himself, against Dan Henderson.  Henderson clean knocked off Bisping's head and ended the hype surrounding him.  This was very pleasurable to some fans (cough, me) because of the way Bisping was portrayed on the show and what he said before the fight.  Bisping knows he is starting over and wants to get back on the winning track.  The truth is that Bisping was inflated by the UFC because of their desire to capture a certain market a la Roger Huerta.  Bisping being inflated means he was portrayed as a more skilled fighter than he was, it does not mean he is not a talented fighter.  I do not care who you face, going 7-2 in the UFC with your only losses being against Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans is pretty impressive.

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Conventional Wisdom:

According to the USA Today/SB Nation Consensus rankings Michael Bisping is the 13^th ranked Middleweight and Dennis Kang is not even ranked, but Kang remains a favorite in the minds of odds makers.  The belief is that Bisping road up the rankings by picking off weak competition and Kang was losing to top competition.  People also see Bisping without strong power and Kang has finished 27 of his 32 wins.  Kang is a BJJ black belt and a solid striker.  He is likely the more skilled fighter and trains with one of the best camps in the world, American Top Team.  He has a superior edge on the mat and on his feet.

Wolfslair has fallen under some criticism as of late and Bisping is coming off the worst loss of his career.  He is known to pepper opponents with a somewhat stick and move style while he waits for a moment to capitalize.  Listening to this one would wonder why Kang is only a small favorite and that is because of Kang.  Regardless of the game plan going into the fight Kang makes mistake after mistake in the fight venue.  That plus his apparent lack of interest at time has stalled his title path.  If Kang where to fight intelligently and put everything in the cage he should win, but who knows if that will ever happen.

WKR Analysis:

I understand the criticism that Bisping lacks the one punch knockout power, but he has finished the fight in 5 of his 7 UFC wins.  He knows how to finish a fight.  Kang is also a scary fighter for a gambler or fan.  You know what he can do and you are waiting for it click, but every time you think it is coming together is when he makes the pivotal mistake.  In addition, Belcher was able to defend Kang's jiu-jitsu and Bisping is stronger on the mat than the Muay Thai striker that is Belcher. 

The skill match up favors Kang as he is a stronger striker and ground fighter.  However, Bisping is excellent at being patient and waiting for mistakes which Kang is known to make.  Despite all this I am not giving up on Kang yet.  Belfort is apparently reaching his potential so Kang can to.  A loss to Bisping and I might have to hurt Journey's feelings and stop believing though.  All in all Kang's skill set is too high compared to Bisping's and Denis should be able to put a little win streak together.