Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar appear set to headline UFC 153, which is scheduled for October 13 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena.
From John Morgan and USA Today, via MMA Junkie:
USA TODAY Sports has confirmed with company officials that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (32-4, 15-0) is moving up to 205 pounds to meet Bonnar in the main event of UFC 153.
This was not the original plan for UFC 153, but injuries necessitated the changes for this seemingly cursed event.
Featherweight champ Jose Aldo was set to defend his title against Frankie Edgar, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was going to face Glover Teixeira. However, both Aldo and Jackson suffered injuries forcing them to pull out of the event.
Morgan reports that Edgar will have to wait for a later date to fight, while Tiexeira will face fellow Brazilian Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153.
This was a lot of rescheduling to handle in short notice, and it took a lot of flexibility from those involved to pull it off.
For Bonnar, it is not at all surprising he stepped up to the table. He has a three-fight win streak going, and as Morgan asserts, he “has openly lobbied for fights with some of the sport’s biggest names.”
However, Bonnar may soon learn to be careful what you wish for, as it is hard to envision him giving the dominant Anderson Silva a real challenge.
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