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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