Spike TV to Carry UFC 120 on Tape Delay

Spike TV will air UFC 120 “Bisping vs. Akiyama” via same-day tape delay at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Oct. 16 from the O2 Arena in London.

A middleweight showdown between “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama will headline the event, along with a pivotal welterweight matchup between the world-ranked Dan Hardy and former World Extreme Cagefighting titleholder Carlos Condit.

Anchored at the Wolfslair Academy, Bisping has won two of his past three fights. The 31-year-old Englishman last appeared at UFC 114 in May, when he notched a unanimous decision against former International Fight League middleweight champion Dan Miller. Bisping has secured more than half (12) of his 19 career wins by knockout or technical knockout and has been finished only once -- by former two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Dan Henderson -- in his 22-fight professional career. He remains undefeated (15-0) on British soil.

Akiyama finds himself on the rebound after he submitted to a triangle choke from Chris Leben at UFC 116 earlier this month; it was his first loss in more than five years. The 34-year-old Judo black belt holds notable wins against surging middleweight contender Alan Belcher, 2006 Pride welterweight grand prix finalist Denis Kang and former heavyweight boxing champion Francois Botha.

A Team Rough House product, Hardy has not competed since he dropped a one-sided unanimous decision to welterweight king Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March; the defeat snapped his seven-fight winning streak. The 28-year-old was a two-division Cage Warriors titleholder and counts victories against Akihiro Gono, Marcus Davis and American Kickboxing Academy standout Mike Swick among his 23 career conquests. In 31 professional appearances, Hardy has never been knocked out.

Condit returns to the cage for the first time since his stirring come-from-behind victory against the previously unbeaten Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 in June. The 26-year-old Albuquerque, N.M., native has rattled off 10 wins in 11 fights, a split decision defeat to the world-ranked Martin Kampmann the only hiccup. Condit has delivered 24 of his 25 wins by KO, TKO or submission.

The Spike TV telecast will also feature a welterweight duel pitting the unbeaten John Hathaway against Mike Pyle, a heavyweight tilt pairing Cheick Kongo with the undefeated Travis Browne and another welterweight matchup between “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 winner James Wilks and surging Canadian Claude Patrick.