Leben to replace Silva at UFC 116
Fresh off a dominant win at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, Chris Leben (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has agreed to…
Fresh off a dominant win at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, Chris Leben (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has agreed to replace injured Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) and fight Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the co-headliner of next week’s UFC 116 event.
A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Leben has agreed to the bout and is expected to sign shortly.
Leben scored a second-round TKO of Aaron Simpson on Saturday, and if signed, his fight with Akiyama will take place after a mere 12-day layoff.
UFC 116 takes place July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Leben vs. Akiyama would take second billing on the night’s pay-per-view broadcast behind a heavyweight title-unification bout between champ Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Shane Carwin.
