Michael Bisping vs. Tim Boetsch officially set for UFC 149 in Calgary

This morning, news broke that the previously scheduled UFC 148 bout of Michael Bisping vs.Tim Boetsch has been officially moved to the UFC 149 card in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally thought to be part of the UFC 148 blockbuster card on July 7 in Las Vegas, Bisping will now try to work his way closer to his coveted title shot in Canada. He confirmed the news via Twitter.com:

My bout has been moved to UFC 148 in Calgary. My apologies to those who bought tickets to come see me get my ass kicked.

— michael (@bisping) May 3, 2012

The stage has been officially set for UFC 149 in Calgary (not UFC 148, which is in Las Vegas). Tim Boetsch is coming off of an impressive Hail Mary knockout of former title challenger Yushin Okami at UFC 144, and looks to ride this momentum up the Middleweight ladder. The winner of this bout will be viewed as a serious contender in the Middleweight division. It seems that Bisping is ever-improving, and nearly beat Chael Sonnen in his last outing. The razor-thin decision loss was controversial, and Bisping has since stated that he will best Chael Sonnen once he takes the belt from Anderson Silva this summer.

Michael Bisping‘s record of 22-4 speaks for itself; he is no doubt an excellent fighter regardless of the public’s opinion of him. His only downfall has been that when faced with a truly top-level opponent, such as Dan Henderson, he has come up short. Both Bisping and Boetsch love to throw hands, with Bisping focusing on technical striking while Boetsch employs the bombs he used to knock out Okami. Who will emerge victorious in this contest, and where will they find themselves in the UFC Middleweight division?

Further Reading: Michael Bisping: I will beat Chael Sonnen in a rematch for the title