The Philippine Online Chronicles

In UFC news, Michael Bisping pulled off a close, yet convincing victory over Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event of UFC 120. With the win, Bisping remains as one of the top contenders to challenge Brazilian MMA superstar Anderson Silva for the welterweight championship.

In boxing, Vitali Klitschko didn’t have any trouble disposing challenger Shannon Briggs to retain his WBC heavyweight championship belt. Klitschko has been able to defend his title for the past five times.

In NBA preseason, the San Antonio Spurs improved their record to 3-2 after beating European powerhouse Caja Laboral. Tony Parker led all scorers by finishing with 22 points.

UFC: Bisping beats Akiyama

UFC dodged what could have been the worst event in company history last Saturday. Under time pressure, UFC’s management, media, and fighters were almost left stranded in London when their chauffeurs weren’t informed that the Blackwall Tunnel had to be closed.

Fortunately, none of the fights had to be canceled because the UFC eventually found alternative routes to reach the fight venue.

Hometown hero Michael Bisping pulled off a convincing unanimous victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event. All judges scored the match 30-27 in favor of Bisping.

With the win, Bisping remains as one of the top contenders for Anderson Silva’s welterweight title.

Bisping used his superior boxing skills to find his mark early on. He used a lot of straight jabs to keep Akiyama at bay.

The first round saw Bisping dominating by landing more shots. In spite of that, he still failed to put Akiyama in serious jeopardy.

In the second round, the fight took a different turn when Akiyama started catching Bisping with short right hooks. Eventually, the Japanese caught Bisping with a solid punch that wobbled him with 30 seconds left in the second round.

In the third round, Akiyama tried to go for the kill. However, Bisping kept him at bay by throwing superb counter jabs that frustrated the Japanese.

In the end, Bisping emerged victorious winning on all judges’ scorecards.

In the co-main even meanwhile, Dan Hardy didn’t do quite as well as his compatriot Bisping. Unlike Bisping, Hardy was knocked out in devastating fashion by Carlos Condit.

At the start of the first round, Hardy did a great job of evading Condit’s strikes. With 4:27 left in the first round though, both men traded huge left hooks that went off the mark.

Suddenly, Condit launched a perfectly executed hook that landed right on Hardy’s chin. He fell down instantly and although Condit wanted to pound him further, the referee already stopped the fight.

In other fights, Mike Pyle surprised everyone when he pulled off a unanimous decision win over undefeated Englishman John Hathaway. The judges scored all rounds in favor of Pyle.

In other fights, Travis Browne had all the luck in the world by escaping with a draw against Cheick Kongo.

Meanwhie, Ultimate Fighter 9 champion James Wilks was completely outmuscled and outpowered by Claude Patrick to claim a unanimous decision victory.

Klitschko defends WBC title

Vitali Klitschko’s domination of the heavyweight division continues as he beat American challenger Shannon Briggs to defend his WBC heavyweight title.

Klitschko beat Briggs via unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 120-107, 120-107, and 120-105, all in favor of Klitschko.

The Ukrainian boxer has been able to defend his title for the fifth straight time after claiming it in 2008 against Samuel Peter.

With the win, Klitschko has improved his record to 41 wins, 38 KOs, and two losses.

Meanwhile, Klitschko’s brother Wladimir is currently holding the IBF and WBO titles. Because of that, the WBA belt is the only remaining championship title that the brothers don’t have. The WBA belt is currently being held by British boxer David Haye.

Klitschko dominated the fight early on by throwing heavy-handed right hooks to Briggs’ face and body.

In the fourth round, it was apparent that Klitschko’s skills and experience are just too much for Briggs to overcome.

In the seventh and tenth rounds, Klitschko sent Briggs crashing to the floor after launching a couple of wicked right and left hooks. Briggs picked himself up in both instances.

In the final rounds, Klitschko was unable to knock down Briggs. In spite of that, there was Briggs gave a lot of credit to Klitschko’s quickness, power, and boxing skills.

NBA Preseason: Parker leads Spurs against Caja Laboral

Tony Parker appears to be finally in excellent form after notching 22 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs against European powerhouse Caja Laboral.

Parker was 9 of 17 on the floor while making all of his four free throws.

Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Richard Jefferson were back in uniform after sitting out their last game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Aside from Parker, Duncan contributed 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, all coming in the second half. The superstar power forward left early in the first quarter after getting poked in the eye.

In Duncan’s absence, Matt Bonner played big by scoring 15 points and hauling down 10 rebounds.

For Caja Laboral, David Logan had 20 points, Mirza Teletovic 18, and Stanko Barac 17 points and 11 rebounds.