ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Five things we learned from UFC 89 and the UFC's latest foray into the United Kingdom:

Is Michael Bisping the real thing? It's still too early to tell, given that there are far more versatile and dangerous middleweights out there than Charles McCarthy, Jason Day and Chris Leben -- his last three opponents. But Bisping showed against Leben that he is smart enough to follow a good game plan -- and that he thrives under pressure.

As the face of British MMA, Bisping is already having to answer questions from domestic reporters about a possible title shot. He showed his maturity in how he addressed the issue after the Leben win.

"I just take it one step at a time; I don't want to get ahead of myself," Bisping said. "All people seem to be talking about is a title shot. I'm seeing improvement with every fight. I'm getting better and better. All aspects of my game are getting better. Whenever it comes, I'll be happy. I'm in no rush. If they said next fight, I'd be happy. lf they said five fights, I'd be happy."

Bisping is aware that he's probably still a few fights away from a crack at a title.

"You've got to earn that right at a title shot," Bisping said. "Have I done it yet? I probably haven't. I don't think I have. That's what I want to do, I want to earn it, I don't just want to be given it because I'm from the U.K. or whatever."

For the record, UFC president Dana White says Bisping is about a year or several fights away from a possible title shot. White also made a point of giving Bisping props for the way he tackled Leben.

"Chris Leben has an amazing chin and knockout power in both hands. That's what he's known for. But I've never seen Chris ripped up like this -- ever."

Bisping went into the Leben fight knowing he is slated to be coach of the U.K. team on Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter." Some might have been fazed by that, fearing a loss might tarnish that role.

Bisping said he likes the pressure.

"It makes me perform. It gives me a reason to get out of bed and run at six in the morning in the pitch black and pouring rain."

The UFC believes it has nailed the British market in its sixth card since taking another crack at England with UFC 70 in April 2007.

"We're here, we're in," said White.

The transatlantic success is sweet for White, who recalls the difficulties trying to put on UFC 38 at London's Royal Albert Hall in July 2002.

"We came over here the first time with not much love," White said. "Even getting that event off, there were a lot of challenges that people don't even know about over here," he recalled. "We stayed committed to this market, we said we were going to stay here, we said we were going to go international and we figured it out. And we got it there now. We're selling out all the arenas that we go to here and we're breaking all the attendance records at all these arenas."

That success should be reflected at the British auditions for Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which features a Team USA versus Team U.K. concept.

Bisping said eight or nine people from his Wolfslair gym are trying out, and a UFC official said Earls Court, the London venue where the casting call is being held, got 50 calls within the first hour it was announced that it would host the tryouts.

Either Dan Henderson or Rich Franklin will run the American team. With the two fighting at UFC 93 on Jan. 17 in Dublin, it would make sense that the winner get the coaching reins.

Filming of Season 9 is slated to start in late January. Look for the U.K. competitors to fight at home to determine who makes it into the house before heading to Las Vegas. White said filming couldn't take place in the U.K. because he has to be on call as needed, which means Las Vegas.

UFC 89, for the first time, also featured two British referees.

"This was to me, in a lot of ways, sort of a coming-out party for the British MMA scene," said Marshall Zelaznik, president of the UFC's U.K. division.

Light heavyweight Brandon Vera looked alarmingly lean and tepid in his loss to Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine. The fight itself never took off, prompting one ringsider to say there were no winners in this one.

But Vera might be the biggest loser.

The 31-year-old has now lost three of his last four fights since returning from an 11-month absence due to a dispute with his former manager.

Vera is also 1-1 since dropping down to light heavyweight, and White admits he is not seeing what he expected.

"It's like he lost something," White said. "That year off, I don't know what it was with him. But he doesn't have that killer instinct; he doesn't go after it. This kid used to be so cocky. … He was good; he was walking through heavyweights. He took that year off, all the contract stuff, and hasn't been the same guy since. I don't know what's wrong with him."

With the UFC looking at a date in the Philippines, Vera -- whose father is Filipino -- will no doubt get another chance to redeem himself.

English welterweight Paul Taylor is 2-3 in the UFC but has won "fight of the night" honors for each of those losses.

Taylor lost a slugfest by unanimous decision to veteran Chris "Lights Out" Lytle on Saturday, a fight he and more than few others thought he might have won.

"He dealt out as much as he was taking," Lytle said. "It was a fantastic fight. I loved it. He's a very tough guy."

Taylor, a former kickboxer, also won "fight of the night" honors for his submission loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 75 and his decision loss to Paul Kelly at UFC 80.

The UFC 89 bonus was worth $40,000 for each fighter.

"The kid's like Arturo Gatti," White said.

"He's a great kid and a tough kid, and we love having him in the UFC."

"I did my best; Chris was tough," Taylor said. "It's been a great honor to fight one of the names [in the UFC]. For me it's put a lot of questions to rest. Am I strong enough? Do I hit hard enough? Is my wrestling good enough? And I can answer yes to all those questions. So for me, it's been a great confidence-booster. Even though I did get the loss. I can still move on and feel good about it."

White expects a bumper audience for the B.J. Penn-Georges St. Pierre rematch on Super Bowl Saturday, saying it will rival the expected record pay-per-view buys for Brock Lesnar-Randy Couture at UFC 91 in November.

"That fight's going to be ridiculous," White said. "And everyone on this planet is going to want to see that fight. Who's going to win? And when you think how close that first fight was and how much both of them have raised their game since then. Georges St. Pierre is 50 times the fighter he was when he fought B.J. Penn the first time. B.J. Penn is serious now and 50 times the fighter he was."

St. Pierre won their first fight by split decision at 170 pounds at UFC 58 in March 2006.

"It's happening at the right time, at the right points in their careers," White said. "They're both focused. It's unbelievable. I'm so pumped for their fight."

White also said he thinks St. Pierre might take a crack at middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

"He beats B.J., that fight could definitely be made at a catchweight. It would be pretty big," said White. "That would be another fun one."

White expects Silva to stay busy and to take another fight at 205 pounds if he makes short work of Canadian Patrick Cote at UFC 90.

Silva has said he wants to retire at 35. He's 18 months away from that milestone, and the Cote bout is the first on a six-fight contract. Silva's manager, Ed Soares, says he expects the Brazilian to fulfill that contract and perhaps to fight past 35.

White, meanwhile, might have had the line of the week in Birmingham when a fan asked him whether he would urinate on former UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz if he saw him on fire. White said no, adding: "I really wouldn't. I'd toast a f---ing marshmallow on him."

Neil Davidson is general sports editor of The Canadian Press.