CAGE fighter Michael Bisping lost his unbeaten record in a split decision by judges.

The former St. Augustine's RC High School pupil was headlining an Ultimate Fighting Championship bill for the first time as he took on Rashad Evans in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night.

And Bisping, from Clitheroe, came so close to a victory that would have left him the number one contender for the light heavyweight decision.

Judges' scores were 29-28 for Evans twice and one 28-29 for Bisping.

Bisping, who won his last fight against Matt Hamill thanks to a controversial judges' decision, is now 15-1-0 in mixed martial arts.

After the fight Evans, winner of season two of the UFC's reality show the Ultimate Fighter, paid tribute to his opponent.

He said: "I got to give credit to Michael Bisping, he came in here and fought a great fight.

"But I controlled the pace of the fight by being able to take him down."

Bisping, winner of Ultimate Fighter Season three, was gracious in defeat.

He said: "I thought it was a very close fight.

"People said that I didn't belong in there with Rashad, but I think I did prove that I belong here."

In the first round Evans kept Bisping off balance and putting him on the canvas 30 seconds into the bout.

Bisping battled back to his feet and kept Evans close.

After the two finally broke, Evans landed upstairs and Bisping responded with a kick, but Evans took advantage and took his foe to the mat.

Bisping scrambled to his feet and tried to score with knees on the inside. Evans answered back with a couple of forearms before scoring yet another takedown just before the round ended.

At the start of the second, Bisping came out fast, but Evans wasn't rattled in the slightest, as he instead scored with a right hand and then picked Bisping up for a Octagon-shaking slam.

Bisping got his wits back almost instantly and he attempted to score with strikes.

Referee Dan Miragliotta stood the fighters and Bisping started to find his range, only to again get hit by Evans' one-twos.

With under a minute to go, Bisping was the busier and more effective of the two fighters, and a hard knee to the midsection got Evans' attention.

Bisping was pushing the pace, but Evans drew first blood with a takedown.

At the end of the fight, Evans was too fast and accurate with his strikes, and his right hands were almost inevitably followed by takedowns.

And though Bisping gamely looked for a finishing haymaker in the final seconds, the rush was too little, too late as Evans took the judges' decision.

UFC is a mixed-martial arts competition where fighters use skills in jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and others to show they are the best.

Its pay-per-views are bought by up to a million people in the US and thousands attend the events.