AFTER months of anticipation Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping and Chris Leben will finally square off tomorrow night.

And the Clitheroe dad of two says he hopes his opponent is in his best possible shape.

“I hope his training has gone really well,” the winner of The Ultimate Fighter series 3 said.

“I hope he is fit and strong and ready for the fight.

“Because when I beat him I don’t want any excuses.”

Bisping, 29, will take on ‘The Crippler’ at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena in the main event at UFC 89 on Saturday in front of 10,500 fans.

The event, screened in the UK on Setanta, will also be watched by millions around the world.

The pair were first scheduled to fight at London’s 02 Arena in June but the fight was postponed when Leben was jailed for a probation violation stemming from an earlier Driving Under the Influence arrest.

Since dropping weight to join the middleweight division after his only mixed martial arts loss, to Rashad Evans last November, Bisping has dominated his opponents. So far this year he has beaten Charles McCarthy and Jason MacDonald in the first round.

And although the Brit has admitted that Leben will be his toughest opponent in the middleweight division, he is confident of chalking up his 18th MMA victory in front of the home crowd.

But Leben, 28, one of the division’s most dangerous strikers, says he has made it his mission to be the first fighter to beat Bisping in the UK.

The American, a contender on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, has an MMA record of 18-4 and is renowned for his knockout power.

He said: “He better keep his hands up. I didn’t come all this way to be another victim.

“I came over here to win.”