It was expected that the TUF Nations Finale main event was to go the full 25 minutes, and that is exactly what transpired.
In front of a sparse crowd inside the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy settled their heated rivalry in an important middleweight match-up. Kennedy easily took round 1 with an early takedown and positional dominance for the duration of the opening minutes. Bisping's notoriously strong takedown defense was breached by Kennedy, who attained full mount before the round closed and fended off Bisping's attempts to get back to his feet.
Round 2 was all Bisping, who stuffed Kennedy's only takedown and was able to out-box him from distance. Kennedy didn't look comfortably fighting from the outside and it was even after the first 10 minutes. The 3rd round was nearly a mirror image of the 1st round, with Bisping taken down and mounted, eating a few ground strikes while unable to get up. The 4th round started out as a 2nd round mimic, and ultimately Kennedy went 0-3 on his takedowns, but it was Kennedy who got the better of Bisping standing, particularly with hard right hands that had Bisping momentarily stunned on multiple occasions.
Kennedy secured the upset win with an early takedown, as Bisping appeared frustrated and flustered by Kennedy's strength and ability to stay on him at all times. The striking exchanges weren't anything special, as Bisping increased his output to no avail, and Kennedy avoided the last-ditch knockout to get the biggest victory of his career.
Official decision: Tim Kennedy def. Michael Bisping (49-46, 49-46, 50-45).
Kennedy (18-4) is 3-0 in the UFC and this win should spring him one step closer to a title shot. Bisping (24-6) is now 2-3 in his last 5 fights, which makes it look like his days as a contender have come to a close.