Kennedy grinds way past Bisping at 'TUF' Nations Finale

QUEBEC CITY, Canada – After plenty of trash talk in the buildup, and a heated face-off at Tuesday's weigh-ins, Tim Kennedy left disappointed – after a dominant win against Michael Bisping.

Kennedy picked up a unanimous decision win with a pair of 49-46 scores, and even a 50-45 from one judge. But he spoke of being less than thrilled with his performance in his post-victory interview after the main event of the TUF Nations Finale at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada. The event was the Ultimate Fighting Championship's season finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations between Australia and Canada.

Kennedy and Bisping angrily pounded gloves before the fight started, a carry-over from Tuesday's heated and profanity-laden weigh-in. But it wasn't really a sign of things to come. The fight had a few shootout moments, but it was mostly Kennedy winning on points thanks to takedowns, keeping Bisping at bay on the ground.

That pattern started in the first with an early takedown from Kennedy, and several times in the fight he repeated that formula, even mounting the brash Brit in multiple rounds. In the second, Kennedy seemed to be flat, but if that was the case, he recovered in the third and beyond.

Although he left the fight with his face a bit battered, he also left with the respect of Bisping following the grudge that built up to the fight.

Kennedy (18-4 mixed martial arts, 3-0 UFC) stretched his winning streak to four fights, including a perfect 3-0 in the UFC. Bisping (24-6, 14-6) heads back to the loss column and now hasn't had a winning streak since 2011.

TUF Nations Finale results:

Tim Kennedy def. Michael Bisping via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
Patrick Cote def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Elias Theodorou def. Sheldon Westcott via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:41
Chad Laprise def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Dustin Poirier def. Akira Corassani via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:42
K.J. Noons def. Sam Stout via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:30
Sarah Kaufman def. Leslie Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan Jimmo def. Sean O'Connell via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 4:27
George Roop def. Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-26)
Mark Bocek def. Mike De La Torre via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Nordine Taleb def. Vik Grujic via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Walsh def. Chris Indich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mitch Gagnon def. Tim Gorman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Mike Bohn contributed to this report. Bohn and Erickson write for MMAJunkie