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Title shot beckons for Bisping as UFC 120 is confirmed

Michael Bisping will be getting in the face of Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120 © UFC

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UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik has confirmed "UFC 120: Bisping v Akiyama" for October 16 at London's O2 Arena.

Michael Bisping headlines a card that is likely to be crammed full of Brits, with Dan Hardy and John Hathaway fighting Carlos Condit and Mike Pyle on the main card. Also set to be involved are Paul Sass, Tom Blackledge, Kurt Warburton and Rob Broughton.

For Bisping, October 16 will represent his biggest night since the loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100. After suffering a knockout blow to Henderson, Bisping has rebuilt his career with wins over Denis Kang and Dan Miller, and victory over Akiyama will return him to the very top of the middleweight contenders list.

"UFC 120 at the O2 Arena on October 16," confirmed Zelaznik, speaking exclusively to ESPN.co.uk. "The three fights we have so far are three of the very best British fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves, Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy and John Hathaway. They will provide three of the five main-card fights on the night.

"We haven't announced any other fights, but there will be plenty of other Brits on there like Paul Sass, Tom Blackledge, Rob Broughton etc. We're trying to figure out opponents for those guys and there should be a real buzz surrounding those fights.

"Bisping v Sexyama is the headliner. Look at Akiyama's last two fights, against Alan Belcher and Chris Leben. He brings it and it's going to be interesting to see where this fight goes. Will Bisping stand with him? Will he take him down? Akiyama looks very comfortable standing in the pocket and just throwing.

"Bisping was a fight away from the title shot before he lost to Dan Henderson. Akiyama's a real contender in that division, if Bisping can get past him then he won't be more than a fight or two from a title shot. This is a very important fight for both men."

Vitor Belfort had been rumoured as a potential opponent for Bisping at UFC 120, but Zelaznik revealed Akiyama was always Joe Silva's first pick.

"A lot of names get passed around as potential opponents, and there were others besides Vitor. These things come about by which fighters are available. The list gets whittled down in that way, I don't have much knowledge on Belfort but I know that Dana [White] and Joe [Silva] always said their first preference was Akiyama."

As for Hathaway, he is matched with the dangerous Mike Pyle, despite reports linking him to Dong Hyun Kim.

"That's a very important fight for Hathaway. He launched onto the scene with his domination of Diego Sanchez. But you have to know how dangerous Mike Pyle is. He's got 20 wins and only one by decision. He will bring it to Hathaway so it will be a big test for him."

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