After Day Of Uncertainty, Yoshihiro Akiyama Agrees To UFC 116 Bout With Chris Leben

Sources close to the promotion that despite some initial resistance to facing a new opponent, Japanese judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama has indeed agreed to face Chris Leben at next week's UFC 116 event in Las Vegas.

- MMA Junkie with the news

The UFC 116 card isn't particularly great top to bottom and the loss of Akiyama would not have helped matters.  While a bout with Chris Leben (coming in on only a few days rest) isn't exactly as exciting as the bout with Wanderlei Silva that was initially planned we now have a good story to the fight.  A win by Leben would be quite the "phoenix from the ashes moment" while a win by Akiyama does continue moving him toward a potential title shot.

SB Nation will have more information on UFC 116 over the next two weeks as data becomes available.

"I am not pleased with the change. There are just ten days left until the contest for me to determine [Chris Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me."

"If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name. I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen. .. In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue."

- Yoshihiro Akiyama via Daum

Akiyama is likely to come out of this situation looking pretty awful.  Wanderlei Silva tried to push through a badly injured knee to stay in the fight with Akiyama and issued an apology to the fans when broken ribs forced him out of the fight.  Then Chris Leben steps up to fight in a bout that was to take place two weeks after his last, very hard fight.  Now Akiyama wants to back out because it isn't a big enough name?

Get ready for the huge backlash Mr. Akiyama.

I am here to talk about my last few days.  I went through a very tense and difficult weekend and had a very hard decision.  Two weeks ago I felt pain in my knee while I was training wrestling.  I had an MRI of my knee and three doctors told me my knee was torn.  I took medicine to help with the pain, and although my knee felt loose, I said "no," this date is very important to me and I continued training.

I tried training more upper body and boxing; I kept losing weight and I was gonna fight no matter what.  Last Friday, during sparring, I injured my rib.  It was very painful and the next day I had an x-ray and an MRI.  I discovered I had three broken ribs.

- Wanderlei Silva gives an update on his health and his reasons for pulling out of his UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Silva also went on to express how badly he wanted to continue with the fight and how difficult it was for him to sit out.  As one of the biggest fan favorites in the sport's history I'm sure everyone wishes Wandy a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him in the ring again.

MMA Fighting with the really disappointing news:

Wanderlei Silva, who was scheduled to meet Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 on July 3, has been forced to withdraw from the card due to fractured ribs suffered in training, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Tuesday afternoon.

Silva/Akiyama was a big bout with confirmed title implications.  It is very disappointing not only that the bout isn't happening but that an aging star like Silva will be on the shelf for a while.

However, a replacement has already been secured:

A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (Chris) Leben has agreed to the bout and is expected to sign shortly.

Leben defeated Aaron Simpson at this past weekend's Ultimate Fighter Finale.  It is insane that the guy would step up to take on a star like Akiyama on short notice this soon after a fight.  But I suppose crazy is just how Leben rolls.

From Fighters Only Magazine:

Wanderlei Silva’s birthday gift is all set - a July 3rd fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Fighters Only can reveal. Silva was born on July 3rd 1976, which means he will turn 34 on the night he faces the Japanese-Korean judo stylist.

It has long been rumoured that Silva’s next opponent would be Akiyama. The two were originally thought to be meeting at UFC 110 before Silva-Bisping was made and UFC president Dana White said after that event that Silva would probably fight Akiyama next.

But the date was not set until recently. One of the fighters has signed and returned his bout agreements and the other is expected to be returned this week, making the clash official for UFC 116. The event will also see the return of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who will face the winner of the Shane Carwin/Frank Mir fight that takes place at UFC 111 this weekend.

So the long rumored bout between Akiyama and Silva is set for one of the biggest cards of the year.  It would seem that the winner would be close to a shot at Anderson Silva's middleweight championship.  With Demian Maia getting the next shot at the title thanks to an injured Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen positioning himself for a shot in the near future I would think that the Silva/Akiyama winner is one win away from getting his shot.

Early odds on the fight should probably be somewhere around even to slightly favoring Wanderlei.

“I know I’m going to fight soon,” said the former Pride champion. “I’m going to have a great surprise for my fans what date I’m going to fight. I’m so close to signing my next fight, we’ll talk about things a little bit more, and I think I’m going to be fighting soon.”

…

“It’s a great match because he’s an incredible fighter. He’s got an Olympic gold medal. He’s had great performances in Dream in Japan, (he’s) very famous there,” Silva commented about Akiyama. “I think it’s a great opportunity, one more really tough opponent, and I’m going to prove in the future it’s possible I can be with the best fighters in 185.”

…

“The next is (Akiyama) and he is number one, and the number two is Bisping because I’m going to give a rematch to him,” said Silva.

- Wanderlei Silva talks to MMA Weekly

The rumor is that Silva vs. Akiyama will be added to the UFC on Versus event as a late replacement. They’ve got an open main card slot on that show and Silva/Akiyama would be a great fit assuming both men are feeling confident that they can be ready in time.