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2008-06-28 21:38:35
Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben Confirmed for UFC 89
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On October 18th, 2008, the UFC will be returning to England for UFC 89: Bisping vs Leben. The event will be held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. This will be the UFC's third event in England in 2008 - UFC 85: Bedlam was held in the O2 arena on June 7th, 2008, and UFC 80: Rapid Fire was held in the Metro Radio Arena on January 19th, 2008.
There are rumors that Anderson "Spider" Silva may appear at UFC 89 as well. But for now, the main event of the show will be Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben, which makes sense for a number of reasons.
First off, Bisping is a "local" boy, having grown up in England after moving there as a child. Bisping's presence on the card will ensure that the event is a sell-out. Bisping won't be the only local fighter on this card, but he will be by far the biggest name. With a record of 17-1-0, and recent extremely convincing victories over both Jason Day and Charles McCarthy, you would have to figure that Bisping would be up for a shot at the Middleweight title should he beat Chris Leben at UFC 89. So there is plenty on the line for Bisping in this fight.
There is also plenty on the line for his opponent, Chris Leben. Leben and Bisping were originally supposed to fight at UFC 85, but Leben ran into some legal problems that prevented him from fighting. Leben wasn't going to be able to enter England with outstanding legal issues - he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Oregon related to a DUI. In order to fight at UFC 85, Leben had to turn himself in and serve his jail time. He had been hoping for a maximum of two weeks in jail - instead he was sentenced to 35 days in jail, and was forced to withdraw from his fight against Bisping. Leben will surely want to turn in a strong performance to vindicate himself in the eyes of fans and UFC management.
Leben currently has a professional record of 18-4-0 with 10 knockouts. His last two fights were both knockout victories - a first-round knockout of Alessio Sakara at UFC 82 - Pride of a Champion, and a third-round knockout against Terry Martin at UFC - Fight Night 11.
Again, Bisping vs Leben is the only confirmed match of the card so far. There are rumors of a Yushin Okami vs Anderson "Spider" Silva fight, but that hasn't been officially announced as of yet. This fight would make sense, as Silva has publicly stated his willingness to fight just a couple of months after his light heavyweight bout with James Irvin, plus the UFC will want to have a "big" name on the card, so that people in North America will buy the PPV.
We'll have more on this card as new matches are scheduled.
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