Author: Matthew Roth

Anderson Silva Will Face Stephan Bonnar in UFC 153 Main Event

The wait is over. The main event of UFC 153 has been announced. It was originally planned to be a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, but the bout was scrapped after Aldo had injured his foot in a motorcycle accident. Th…

The wait is over. The main event of UFC 153 has been announced. It was originally planned to be a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, but the bout was scrapped after Aldo had injured his foot in a motorcycle accident. 

The new main event will be a light heavyweight scrap between Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar as confirmed by John Morgan of USA Today via MMA Junkie. This will be Silva’s third time at light heavyweight in the UFC where he defeated James Irvin and Forrest Griffin in previous outings. 

Bonnar spoke openly about retirement this year and how he no longer felt motivated to fight. He did leave a door open, should he be presented with an intriguing fight. Well, Joe Silva called his bluff and proposed the bout with the middleweight champion.

Bonnar brings some very technical boxing with an underrated ground game to the cage. But the most important aspect of his game will be his toughness. He’s going to need to rely on that if he hopes to wear Silva down and survive to the later rounds. 

Silva is widely regarded as the best fighter in the world. He’s immensely popular in Brazil and his involvement on the card will surely be viewed by the Brazilian audience as a reason to watch. He last fought at UFC 148, in which he finished Chael Sonnen in the second round. 

This is a great fight for both Silva and Bonnar. While many fans will count Bonnar out, know that he’s more game than most and one of the few fighters to take Jon Jones to a decision. He matches up well and has the size to really push Silva. 

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Chris Leben to Make UFC Return Against Karlos Vemola at UFC 155

Some great news for a week that started on a low note, Chris Leben will be making his UFC return later this year. “The Crippler” will meet Karlos Vemola at UFC 155 in Las Vegas. UFC 155 is Zuffa’s end of year show and one that always brings the best.Th…

Some great news for a week that started on a low note, Chris Leben will be making his UFC return later this year. “The Crippler” will meet Karlos Vemola at UFC 155 in Las Vegas. UFC 155 is Zuffa’s end of year show and one that always brings the best.

The UFC’s Australian Twitter broke the news with just a simple tweet. “UFC155: ‘The Crippler’ to take on UFC_UK‘s Karlos Vermola. Vemola has finished his opponents in all nine of his wins.”

It was confirmed that it was, in fact, the returning Leben. 

Leben was last seen at UFC 138 against Mark Munoz in Birmingham, England of last year. Munoz took it to Leben early and often and opened up a massive cut over Leben‘s eye. Leben‘s corner was forced to throw in the towel and Munoz won by TKO. 

Following the defeat Leben tested positive for both oxycodone and oxymorphone. The UFC was in charge of testing and suspended Leben for a year. It was the second time that Leben had tested positive. 

Leben has been one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC’s roster since making his debut following the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. The matchup with Vemola promises to end in knockout as both fighters pack heat in their hands. 

It’s the perfect kind of fight for the end of year event. 

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Jose Aldo out of UFC 153 Bout with Frankie Edgar Due to Foot Injury

Can we put a cap on injury news? Like two injuries a day. Well, here’s some more terrible news in the wake of other terrible news. Jose Aldo has been forced from his title defense against Frankie Edgar due to a foot injury. Edgar stepped up on sho…

Can we put a cap on injury news? Like two injuries a day. 

Well, here’s some more terrible news in the wake of other terrible news. Jose Aldo has been forced from his title defense against Frankie Edgar due to a foot injury. Edgar stepped up on short notice when Erik Koch bowed out because of an injury. 

Last week, Aldo was in a motorcycle accident where it was reported that he had some swelling in his foot. The swelling was originally thought to be minor. Apparently, that original diagnosis was incorrect, as Aldo is out of his bout. 

Dana White hit Twitter to break the news, which Guilherme Cruz of Tatame subsequently confirmed:

 

This is honestly terrible. After a grueling summer with cards plagued by injuries, the UFC’s final five pay-per-views were stacked. 

Losing Aldo effectively kills UFC 153 as it stands right now. The card was already damaged by the loss of Quinton Jackson, who pulled out due to an elbow injury. The UFC now needs to scramble to put together not just a co-main event, but a main event that will appease the Brazilian fans. 

I wonder if Anderson Silva is willing to step up and save this card like he was with UFC 151. They could really use him right about now. Maybe a third match with Chael Sonnen at light heavyweight. Do whatever they have to do to save this card. 

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Vladimir Matyushenko out of UFC 152 with Torn Achilles Tendon

When it rains, it pours.Fresh off the news that Quinton Jackson was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 bout with Glover Teixeira due to an undisclosed injury, it’s been confirmed that Vladimir Matyushenko is out of UFC 152 with a torn Achilles tendon.&n…

When it rains, it pours.

Fresh off the news that Quinton Jackson was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 bout with Glover Teixeira due to an undisclosed injury, it’s been confirmed that Vladimir Matyushenko is out of UFC 152 with a torn Achilles tendon. 

Matyushenko was scheduled to face a returning Matt Hamill, who was coming out of retirement to face “the Janitor.” The two aging wrestlers are both known to pack some power in their fists and the bout would likely have ended with someone unconscious.

UFC Canada’s twitter was the first to break the news on twitter. 

This is awful news for the UFC who have been hit with the injury plague all summer long. It appeared that things were finally turning around, and they would close the year out with some really strong cards.

The loss of Matyushenko won’t affect the buy rate, but it does show that losing any fighter will really affect the bottom line of a card. The one bit of positive news to take away from this is that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was able to find a sufficient replacement on short notice to step up and face Hamill. 

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Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Injured, out of UFC 153 Fight Against Teixeira

Quinton Jackson is a man ready to leave the UFC behind. At least that’s the story that has been told by the man who no longer feels loved by the Las Vegas-based promotion.As a former star in PRIDE and a onetime UFC light heavyweight champion, Jackson i…

Quinton Jackson is a man ready to leave the UFC behind. At least that’s the story that has been told by the man who no longer feels loved by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

As a former star in PRIDE and a onetime UFC light heavyweight champion, Jackson is of the opinion that the UFC should match him up against fighters who prefer to stand and trade. 

The UFC granted Jackson his wish by matching him up with the hard hitting Glover Teixeira, who is coming off a stunning victory over Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 146. The bout was scheduled to be the co-main event of UFC 153 in Rio.

Unfortunately, it appears the bout isn’t going to happen. Just minutes ago, UFC President Dana White sent out the following tweet: 

This is just terrible news for Zuffa and fans. Zuffa put together a great matchup between two exciting light heavyweights with a propensity for putting their opponents to sleep. The bout would also serve as a jumping off point for Teixeira as a win over Jackson would immediately vault him into title contention. 

It would also be a way to send Jackson packing with another L on his record. Now the UFC is left scrambling to find a replacement for Teixeira. Hopefully they have someone in mind that can deliver like Jackson has so many times before. 

UPDATE: Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com has confirmed that Rampage has injured his elbow. 

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UFC 152 Jones vs. Belfort Media Call: Live Blog and Updates

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will host a media conference call with the main and co-main event stars of the upcoming UFC 152: JONES vs. BELFORT card on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.Reigning UFC…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will host a media conference call with the main and co-main event stars of the upcoming UFC 152: JONES vs. BELFORT card on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his opponent, former champion Vitor Belfort, will be available to discuss their upcoming championship bout in Toronto. 

UFC flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson will also be available to discuss their battle for the newly created flyweight title.

UFC president Dana White will also be on the call.

Bleacher Report will be on the call and providing updates during the duration. 

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