UFC 153 Update: Silva vs. Bonnar to Headline, Teixeira vs. Maldonado Set
By Chris Leslie on September 12, 2012
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will step in on short notice to face Stephan Bonnar at light heavyweight for the main event of UFC 153. Additionally, Fabio Maldonado will step in for an injured Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Glover Teixera in the co-main event and the UFC confirmed the previously announced bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Dave Herman. USA Today announced the news earlier today.
UFC President Dana White tells MMAJunkie that bouts came together while Silva was shooting a commercial in Brazil, Silva was originally rumored to be unavailable due to an upcoming role in a movie. Said White:
“We’re back on track,” White said ”Anderson Silva wasn’t scheduled to fight at all. I called him today, and he’s shooting a commercial in Brazil. Anderson Silva steps up, and Stephan Bonnar wants to fight him. The Teixeira vs. Maldonado fight comes together, and then Nogueira was standing right there with Anderson shooting the commercial with him, and he said he wanted to fight, too.
“This is old-school UFC. A card is in jeopardy, but guys that are world champions and superstars stepped up and jumped in and saved the card. This is why the fans love this sport and why we went on a 12-year run without canceling an event.”
The moves were precipitated by the loss of both Jackson and featherweight champion Jose Aldo yesterday. Aldo’s opponent, former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, will likely face Aldo at a later date.
The bout between Silva and Bonnar will take place at light heavyweight and be a three round fight.
UFC 153 (aka UFC Rio 3) will take place October 13 live from the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
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Wow, when I first read the title I thought it was Thiago silva. Wouldn’t it be crazy if Bonnar actually was the one to beat Anderson.
@MikeMac
I thought Thiago Silva initially as well lol….Bonnar is actually a good skill set match up against Silva….They get a full month to train & game plan, wish it could be 2 or 3 but a whole month is still good….I would hate to Silva lose to someone “undeserving” as far as rankings go but Bonnar is still a true warrior who’s hard as hell to finish, so if he would happen to beat Silva I wouldn’t be upset one bit, my only hope is for a competitive & entertaining fight!
Props to Silva, Bonnar, Big Nog, Dave Herman, & Maldonado for stepping up for their company & us fans!….Even after all the injuries & scrapped fights it’s still a heck of a card!
Bonnar does have a chance against silva if he does the ‘Greg Jackson’ gameplan and uses his big body to drive silva into the fence or put him on his back. If he tries to use his ‘go for broke’ striking against the best counter striker in mma(IMO) then he will be countin ceiling tiles in the 2nd round.
Hey, Here is a quick one.
The greatest fight in UFC history, And Anderson Silva beat both of them!! Not only that, he went up in weight class to do it.
Already made Griffin look bad.
I don’t like Bonnar’s chance at all
AWESOME!
“This is old-school UFC. A card is in jeopardy, but guys that are world champions and superstars stepped up and jumped in and saved the card. This is why the fans love this sport and why we went on a 12-year run without canceling an event.”
I love this Jab at Jones. Made me laugh for a few.
Can’t compare this to UFC 151. Only 8 days notice (which really turns out to be like 3 or 4 days) for 151 and a month for this one. Don’t consider anyone a hero for “saving” 153, they have ample notice compared to Jones.
Dana needs to be more concerned about making less ppv’s so they’re stacked and can get the draws. As is right now, too many ppv’s and not enough named fighters to fill the spots. Fighters are training too hard or too much and not getting enough rest, so expect more and more people to get injured in the years to come unless Dana pulls his head outta his a$$ and realizes sometimes less is better.
I’m sure a lot of people are gonna complain about these fights but I like them. I’m looking forward to them. Love watching Silva fight except for the fact that my heart rate speeds up until he wins.
Wait a champion fighting on short notice….what the heck! Jon see how a man handles business.
its not gonna be a good night for bonner
Boom! Did I nail Bonnar on this card! Only as a replacement against Glover ;) Too bad it can’t be Weidman v spider and Bonnar v Glover… that would’ve been true old school Ufc, letting a real challenger get his due without worrying about the mighty dollar ;-) they are lucky Weidman just had that surgery cuz that fight would make way too much sense, and you know spider would take it.
Btw spider is such a warrior omg. I still respect bones for his decision, but spider is the man. And Dana is still an ungrateful, whiny girl with no responsibility which cannot be argued.
I love Bonnar and him winning this fight couldn’t happen to a better person. Its a long shot but he’s solid in all facets and I wouldn’t be totally shocked, especially cuz spider is getting up there. I would love to see my dogg pee wee beat nog in Brazil too. Yet another tune up for Glover. Gonna be a card.
I don’t think Silva would have taken the Weidman fight on short noticed mainly because I don’t think he could have dropped to 185 that quickly and do so safely and effectively. That is why he is willing to fight at 205 on such short notice.
Woah weird a$$ main event, should be nuts though. Hah for a second i thought texeira vs maldonado was the co-main event that would of been ridiculous, i actually don’t get why moldonado is fighting texeira instead of dibate but that being said moldonado seems to be one of those guys that would be a tough fight for anyone
Maldonado’s record and name recognition doesn’t really warrant it here in the US but he is a good fighter and they both are rather big names in Brazil. I think it will be a good fight and one that Brazilians will like to see.
I like bonnar – but the only thing more dangerous than Anderson at 185 is Anderson at 205..
I agree. I think Silva’s speed at 205 is unmatchable. I even think Jones is not quick enough for him.
Dana – Hey Anderson you want to make $500,000 next month? Anderson – Where do I sign!
double that amount
Silva vs Bonnar?
all I have to say is WTF for??
ya..i agree with ya. should be silva/jbj and glover/bonner..but hey, a fight is a fight imo.
I don’t even know what to expect anymore with this UFC. 153 better make up for the 151 debacle. MMA training expert talks about UFC 153 http://www.chewthedirt.com/mma-news-ufc-153-reworked/ . The Silva fight should be quite interesting…
This just in… a main event with zero meaning. This card should be free. There is a special going around for Dish network I think that says buy 3 get 1 free on ppv fights. Wouldn’t this just ruin your day if it was your free one. Or even worse if you had to pay for it…
Am I seriously the only person who thinks Bonnar has no chance in hell? Like Seriously wtf is going on in the UFC…. I’m so sick and tired of watching Anderson Silva and Jon Jones fight people who don’t have a shot in hell at winning.
Does Dana White only want them to be the champion or what? I remember when the Title use to be something special… For the last 4 years that iv’e been watching MMA Anderson Silva has been the champion.. WTF put him against someone that he has a chance at losing against. Chael Sonnen was the ONLY time it was even close! Make him move up to light heavyweight where people ACTUALLY have a chance at beating him. I’m almost ready to quit watching this after NEVER missing a UFC since ufc 98.
COME ON.
If you don’t like the fights don’t watch bro anything can happen in a fight your insane to think that he has no chance in hell, maybe he is a definite underdog but to say that he has no chance is absolutely crazy.
Are you people crazy how could you be mad at this fight card, I feel bad for the people who say they are mma fans but want to watch less fights and are hating on this card. Why does it bother you so much that it isn’t for a title its still the greatest fighter of all time fighting a game opponent who is skilled everywhere and don’t forget this wasn’t the original plan this is a backup plan because of injuries and you are still gonna hate on these matchups.
@ clown
first off I would love to know your much better plan of how to run the UFC, its not an easy thing to do to put together these fights on short notice. Secondly, “this card should be free”, they can’t just promote a card as a PPV and have it scheduled as one, and then just last minute make it a free card. Let me ask you something, whatever you do to make money don’t you have to charge people for a service or a product to make that money, whether its your boss or your clients right? THIS JUST IN…….. SH** COST MONEY people who give away there shit for free go broke.
it would be free to the fans but i would think the ufc would make money with there deal with cable network. showing these fights and making these “less worthy” cards available to the public will build the fanbase and when it comes time to re-negotiate the tv deal then thats when the ufc will see the benefit. its a little more long-term thinking then just raking in the ppv $ but could be better off for it.
i’m not saying this card is not worthy of a ppv. i think i very much is. the last brazil card was very much not though and should have been put on fx or fuel for the general public. i did not waste my money on that one. at $55 i have to pick and choose my battles with the mrs.
@ Kobe
Let us start with the fact that you obviously don’t get sarcasm. But allow me to defend anyways.
Much better plan.. hmmm Don’t over flood with fight cards. Your already multi millionaires based off a fight schedule from years ago so it shouldn’t matter doing the same thing. Understanding with a larger roster you do need to make more bank for payroll so an extra card here or there could be necessary. Don’t make fight cards that won’t make much money. 8 mediocre to descent fights followed by a possibly amazing title fight doesn’t really scream dollar signs. That is why the other card was cancelled. Keep up your network agreements and keep putting cards on them. Use the free stuff for contender matches and up and comers and what not. It will draw in people to see the future or at least keep the same number that watch it now. They make money on Fox regardless. Might not be PPV money but it is enough to pay the bills and then some or else they wouldn’t have made it.
This card should be free.. yep your right it was promoted as a ppv card but it was also promoted as different fights with different fighters for a title. Now understandable they have an agreement with ppv peoples to still put it on so therefore it will still go on. Hence why I said “this card should be free”.
Hope that somewhat clears up what I was trying sarcastically get across. And of course I could be wrong, the ratings might go through the roof but I just don’t see it. To me PPV isn’t meant for a last minute throwdown. But props to everyone who has jumped in on short notice. And I know all cards have that “*” stating card is tentative. But I would like to see how many people try to get refunds from their tickets.
I won’t buy it but I do look forward to reading the lowlights of the card. :p
Like I said before I dont think we as fans can talk about how the UFC should go about doing business when we dont know nearly half the stuff that goes into making these fights happen. From the outside looking in its easy to say oh well all they have to do is this, but in REALITY things are not that easy. They have to make money by doing PPV’s if they had as little PPV’s as you suggest they would make less money, and I know your gonna say that they will be more stacked and more people will buy them, but real mma fans enjoy watching good fights regardless of the names on the card. They have as many PPV’s as they do because people DO buy them and they DO make money.
Yea I don’t always get sarcasm when it is typed up on a computer, like most people.
We as fans have every right to say what they should and shouldn’t do. It is considered criticism. Although he is a hard headed man don’t think for a second that DW doesn’t look over comments and crap and doesn’t think late at night.. “man that might work”
And yes I would say fewer cards will be more stacked fights. But I’m not saying drop all the fights. I was just saying stay closer to the old formula. They still made bank. I can’t imagine a lot of salaries in that business that get paid hourly.
On a side note after more thought about it and a day at work without my ipod because I forgot it. The older formula would work or an adjusted version of I guess I’d call it the (wwe) formula. Obviously couldn’t have free weekly fights but something similar couldn’t work. Put it on Fox and throw some newer names in the mix. When Fox wants a epic fight they make it happen like they did Cane vs JDS or whatever.
Back to the point though… I am a real fan. I don’t need to prove it to anyone or say all that “i’ve been watching it since blah blah blah” But let us just say that after my father growing up refused me ppv privileges. I would rent the fights on vhs…
And you are right. People do buy them. But the ratings have dropped and that can’t make some people happy. Especially in a messed up economy. Some people can’t afford more than a buy a month.
I am no business expert didn’t study it in school or anything like that but my idea is that If you flood the market with “bad” product, (and I use that lightly because DW can’t make them all fight gold fights) People on a budget that can only pick 1 or 2 fights a month pick 1 hope it is good and if it isn’t second guess buying anymore. There will always be a fan base but the goal is to expand. If ratings go down I can’t imagine the steam coming out of DW’s ears.
Everyone has the right to there own opinion its just that your opinion doesn’t hold much weight when you haven’t been in the business yourself(unless you have). Its like someone who has been a fan of baseball for years who thinks he could run the league so much better with just a few “easy”changes. DW said on MMA live that if they had less events they wouldn’t have as many fighters on contract and they wouldn’t have as many weight classes. Again I feel that i have to explain that when it comes down to it, the UFC is a business and like any other business they have to listen to a certain amount of what their customers want, but not everything. I hate to break it to you but the UFC isn’t concerned with the people who can only afford one a month if they have tons of other people willing to pay for way more than that. Plus they ONLY HAVE one or two PPV per month.
Just another fight I won’t watch….as I’m sure other people won;t watch either. Maybe Dana will eventually get the hint…
So if bonnar pulls off the miracle is he the #1contender for lhw?
IMO yes he would be but would also have to wait……IF he were to win he would be on a 4 fight win streak albeit against mid tier guys followed by Anderson, plus he’s the only man to take Jones the distance so they could build a rematch, but I do believe that if healthy Hendo would still get a shot before him
Honestly, I’ve learned to no longer care about the way UFC does business or the words that come out of both sides of Dana White’s mouth… Just call me on fight night and deliver talented guys fighting their hearts out and I’ll keep watching and learning. It’s why I started watching MMA in the first place.