A major change has been made to next week's UFC 116 fight card in Las Vegas. Wanderlei Silva has been forced out of his bout against Yoshihiro Akiyama due to injury and will be replaced by Chris Leben, who accepted the fight just days after his TKO win over Aaron Simpson.
Silva's removal from the fight was first reported by MMAFighting.com. Leben's placement in the fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Tuesday.
According to the report on Silva, the Brazilian suffered fractured ribs that forced him out of the fight.
In steps Chris Leben, who fought last Saturday night at "The Ultimate Fighter" finale, and will do a quick turn for the fight with Akiyama.
The win was Leben's second in a row, as he put the first loss on the record of the previously unbeaten Simpson. Leben had been training and working with longtime friend Nate Quarry to get ready for the fight. He sustained no injuries in the bout with Simpson, so he'll be able to fight in July 3.
The bout between Leben and Akiyama will maintain a main card slot for the UFC 116, headlined by UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returning to action to face interim titleholder Shane Carwin.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
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