Anderson Silva steps up to face Stephan Bonnar in UFC 153 main event
Posted on September 12, 2012, 09:16 PM by Mike DrahotaBreaking news comes tonight as UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva is willing to step up and save an event for his company by facing Stephan Bonnar in the main event at UFC 153. After yesterday's news came that both Featherweight champ and Light Heavyweight Quinton Jackson would be unable to fight due to injury, 145 lb. title challenger Frankie Edgar was ultimately pulled off the card altogether. Rumors swirled earlier today that perhaps Chael Sonnen would face Wanderlei Silva in the event's main fight, as the two have had a heated past between them. However, this never came to fruition.
Instead Silva, who has fought twice at Light Heavyweight before, decimating James Irvin and then Forrest Griffin, has decided he will save a card like he was willing to do when UFC 151 ultimately fell apart. Not only that, the rest of the main card came together quickly as well, as Glover Texeira will face Fabio Maldonado instead of Rampage and Big Nog is scheduled to face Dave Herman. Dana White was obviously very impressed with his long-standing champion, widely considered one of the greatest fighters to ever walk the planet:
"We're back on track. 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.” - via MMAJunkie.com
While injuries have decimated card after card this summer, it appears that the Rio de Janeiro event was able to be saved, with some potential for fireworks. Bonnar is on a bit of a win streak himself, and we will see if he can contend with Silva. Texeira, who submitted Kyle Kingsbury in his UFC debut earlier this year, will have his hands full with the great striking of Maldonado. Of course, it will also be very interesting to see how Nogeira returns from his brutal injury at the hands of Frank Mir last December. Perhaps White put it best with a summary here, and maybe got one last barb in on Jon Jones with some subtelty:
"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."
Comments
Anyone want to take the over on Bonnar lasting 2 minutes?
Well yes, and I believe it will be less embarrassing than Silva vs Forrest. Will he win, I highly doubt it, but I think this will go into the second and maybe even the third round.
Stephan Bonnar? is this a joke or is UFC desperate as hell?
i think this a good test for Anderson Silva at 205 to see how well he performs against Boner coz Bonner fought Jones and if he can finish Bonner easily that would great to promote Silva vs Jones.
So True....
Big Joke.....
Wow....Anderson is going to save this card.....lets throw him the bottom guy in the the LHW Div. That will attract the fans!!!
A title defense against someone that isnt even rated !!!
WEAK !!!!
@gm1: How exactly do you feel that someone who is on a 3 fight winning streak, has never been finished, and is one of the few to go the distance with the champion, somehow is the bottom fighter in the LHW division?
THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE TITLED "ANDERSON SILVA STEPS DOWN" to face Stephen Bonnar !!!
Wow noone bashing anderson about how he should fight chael?
Interesting how lately silva and jones were or are supposed to fight alot of the same guys
It's like Babe Ruth stepping in to save a game of T-ball haha
UFC needs to start booking 'insurance fights' for all it's events from now on . Too many thrown together fights because of injuries ....
AKA Silva vs Griffin 2
Judging by their latest performances, I think Bonnar would wreck Griffin now.
haha this is the main event wtf ??
I think the interest in watching A.S Beat up on Chael is even getting old for Chael.
Don't compare A.S and Jones Anderson has beaten everyone they sent his way - Jones has done the same but still has a loooooooong way to go before being compared to A.S. - Use your head.
Jones has accomplished over half of Silva's entire career in just a few years and has still to reach his peak. By the time Jones is done he will have surpassed Silva in statistical terms as an all round fighter I have him above Silva already.
come on man - Really ? It sounds like you are trying to hype Jones no matter what in your comment.
He may have done all of that in just a few years - but can you really say that Jones is going to be relevant in this many years?
MMA has change a lot and it is now more main stream - Anderson has been fighting along time waaaay before UFC and all those opponents meant nothing? Why? because YOU don't think so?
You know many things happen over the years not just losing but injury as well.
Let see where Jones is in 15 years - is he going to be being compared to the new kid ? What if the new kid is on a tear - will you come on here and say I already have him above Jones.
I'll bet probably.
Now THAT'S a silva nuthugger. I thought that any idiot could see a similarity between them, even if jones isn't on silvas level in terms of pure execution and shock value.
Even if they don't get that, they ATLEAST should be able to recognize that chael just fought silva, was supposed to fight jones, and now jones is fighting vitor who silva fought and silva is fighting bonnar who jones fought..
But you saw two names and immediately got butthurt.Ok, anderson silva is like the walt disney of skiing, now cry yourself a river.
Anderson Silva is the Walt Disney of skiing? What?
And I got butthurt? Lol that's funny dude.
So I'm a nutthugger who got butthurt because Anderson Silva is the Walt Disney of Skiing and I should go and cry myself a river.
What can even say to this? nothing it's hilarious!
I was just stating my opinion and I still think it actually makes sense but your the tough guy making nuthuggers butts hurt over Walt Disney - Anderson Silva & Skiing - I am now leaving this conversation...
All the best with your life!
...Wow boy did that go over your head, guess i really shouldn't be surprised eh.
It's not supposed to make sense clown, it's an imitation of how eager you are to jump down someones throat just because they say something that might vaguely resemble a criticism to silva in an alternate universe to some retarded kid on antibiotics.
And that will probably go over your head too, so i guess i'll just pat your head while you're down there.
Awwwww more weaks for you. It's sad really. Mr. Master of the universe is just too smart for us all - that must be it.
Ya but without the caps
Exactly, doesn't anyone think Anderson is taking the opportunity to further pad his record prior to retirement. Bonner doesn't have a chance.
How about a true contender Anderson and not a 'gimme'?
None of them stepped up. Don't blame Andy. He is doing this for the fans, looks like he was being serious about trying to save 151, because hes doing it for 153.
Stop bitching. Anderson stepping in has helped save the show, at a time when the UFC really needed it. This also shows that his offer to step in to save 151 wasn't just idle talk.
Fvck you bitch
MKT---I'd love to see Anderson step up to face someone like Bones....
This fight seems like a quick payday for Silva.....
That's all fine and dandy, but this match-up does nothing else. I seem to remember Weidman stepping up a while ago. Is my memory fading.........
Yeah, not many weaks on my second comment since ya'll got PWND.
His a true champion. And he really cares 4 the fans
Agreed.
Andy's unzipped and he's waiting for you in the master bedroom.
make this a title shot for middle weight!
I'm saying Silva be decision. TKO doctor stoppage is the higher probability still. I just think Bonnar will be a much tougher opponent than some people are going to give him credit for.
Agreed, Bonnar's legit and has an amazing chin and great tenacity. He's also more well rounded than people realize and he'll probably have a reasonable size advantage in this fight as well. Andy will almost certainly win, but this should be fun.
I have notice Bonnar noticeably improving in his last few fights he could really surprise Anderson, will he win ? no but it will be a lot more interesting than the Chael 'lay and pray and then just pray saga' .
This will be an awesome fight if Bonnar tries to stand up with him. And win or lose I have respect for anyone thats man enough to do that. Enough with the wrestling.
I can see the logic. Bisping and Stann fighting before 153, Munoz out with an injury, Belcher out with an injury. And give Bonnar his "Rocky" moment, which he has earned through dedication, if not talent.
For Silva, a chance to beef up his winning streak and UFC records, and also help the organization.
If Belfort was 13 to 1 against Jones, imagine what the odds for the American psycho on this one?
Big guy with a lot of reach.....maybe he gets excited about taking it to jones....what happens if Andy loses???
Just saw it...Minotauro vs Herman also added to the card.
Brazillians (and Bonnar) to the rescue!
I dont get it..why in hell would anderson want to fight bonnar? the only fight that would make sense if he went up to LH would be against jones...what if anderson loses...i mean, theres always that chance...its not the same losing against saint pierre or jones as losing against bonnar, who is no longer a top ten fighter, if he ever was one...
you sir are a moron.
I will be the "translator" for translator11213123121431243123212`12221312's comment... Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
these injuries are crazy this year, too much. really sad how it is effecting the cards so much...as far as this fight goes, pretty sure silva will out class stephen, but really, stephen is hard to ko...but can see silva finding the button
Silva keeps fighting bums at 205! Give him someone like Rashad or Shogun!
Bonnar is not as bad as you may think.
If Bonnar and Griffin fought now, i would give the edge to Bonnar. He has actually looked quite good in his last few fights.
Why not fight teixera?(sp?), who is he fighting? is he out of the event now since rampage is out?
Glover is fighting Maldonado. That's a sick fight between two really good standup fighters. With Big Nog on this card as well, the UFC has really pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Stephan Bonnar is the BEST they could do?
LAME
if you like good fights then u should be overwhelmingly excited. bonnar wanted a big name because hes on the latter end of his career. Hes extremely experienced and as tough as most heavyweights.We know silva is capable of outclassing any fighter skill wise. if he anderson handles bonnar and his size impressively he will probably look to create a super fight with jones. silva isnt in it to be friends with jon, silva wants to be the best ever.
I like Bonnar, and I think he's a good fighter, but based on his RECORD is he the best they could come up with?
19 weaks based on mis-interpretation. I'm going to weak myself too.
for me it doesnt matter if he deserves to fight anderson. at this point its rewarding enough just to see silva perform. we all know boner is tuf as nails so it will be exciting whether he gets a one-sided beat down or not.
For Bonnar, it is the last chance to make something great for his legacy.
He always had heart but this time he's gonna be ready to die in there.
On the other hand, Silva has nothing to win and won't be that motivated.
Moreover Bonnar being a Carlson Gracie student, could have some support overthere.
Could be the upset of the decade.
I love all the haters saying Anderson should fight this or that guy instead or calling BS to this news. Im a fan that is spending a lot of cash that I have saved all year to go see this event and this 3 "new" fights are awesome from my point of view! I was very upset with the main event and co main event cancelation but this is turning out great!
As far as you kids that are saying he should fight Jone Jones - Jones didnt even wanted to fight Sonnen who is way way smaller than him and he was coming out of a 3 month camp. AS is not on a training camp and will be fighting a way bigger opponent, which speaks tons of the type and quality of fighter he his. If you dont like the card, dont buy it, assuming you spend money on this... or maybe start training and go fight a bit and see how easy it is...
A big up for the fighters stepping up and for the UFC by making arrangements to "solve" this card and making paying fans happy since they FOR SURE will have a great card and a great show!
bonnar`s chances are slim but he is a constantly improving fighter, i personally want to see bonnar/griffin 3 as i think bonnar would win now!
bonnar is an intelligent guy and i see him pressing silva up against the cage and giving silva some problems, doubt he will get flustered like griffin did and make it a fight plus he is a huge LHW he could easily make HW if he wanted.
i see it going to round 2 or 3 then silva being the legend that he is will find a strike from no where and finish the fight! :)
Thank god that 153 is in Rio. I think the chance to fight again in Brazil was a large driving factor in both Silva and Nogueria's decisions to step up.
bonnar has twice the chin forrest has
Completely ridiculous!!! What a dumb fight. Don't get me wrong I love Bonnar, but come on this is not even a fight. Couldn't they find someone on the division with a lil more of a chance. Nonsense I tell you.
Anderson once again proves why he is the best fighter in the world. His actions to show he will fight anyone for the fans proves he will do anything for the sport. Also has he continues to make the best fighters in the world look like they know nothing about fighting. Also against sonnen he proved that you literally cant even make one mistake or your done 5-20 seconds later. 2 years ago I thought he was the best fighter ever, now I think lately its safe to say theres no disputing it.
are you serious?? bonnar isnt even a top 10!! thats an easy fight for him. its the 3rd time he goes to LHW and for the 3rd time he doesnt fight a great fighter. everyones says GSP should go up and fight the champion, JJ should go up and fight a top 5 HW, aldo to go up and fight for the belt or frankie drop down and fight for the belt! ANDERSON SILVA wants easy fights and thats what bonnar will be... what about fighting a big wrestler like rashad or phil davis. this fight is a joke!
he will never fight jones because he knows he wont stop the takedown. and jones ground and pound isnt as sonnens. it will be as simple as if jones wants to take him down or not and that will be it. anderson is tough but he wont make it alive if jones is on top like chael was for 4.5 rounds. the only chance he will have will be if jones gets retarded and wants to fight him standing up.
im not saying he should fight him in 1 month notice but thats the fight everyone wants to see. and if he is fighting another LHW it should a top 10 at least.
AS is like mayweather. he is now calling out GSP because he knows its the perfect time to do it. GSP will return probably really rusty. this exactly as now mayweather calling out mr congress man paquiao!!
AS should man up!! and call out jones!!
Agreed...AS and GSP are so much like mayweather and pacman!
Both are the most talented and would be a super fight but the size difference would be the decider!
And like mayweather, AS is not stupid enough to take on a fighter that is close to his talent with a big size advantage!(keeps the cash coming)
On another note i see JJ a lot like Haye, he dominates LHW division then moves up to HW does well then loses to the top of the division!
Yes if it was a perfect MMA world with no injuries we could sit here all day and say what fights should happen. In the situation it just makes things interesting. I know its easy but its always awesome to see silva fight. I wasnt saying bonnar is one of the best fighters, I was referring to his previous opponents.
With the turn of events and my favorite fighter Aldo out I like the way the card looks again, its a good recovery considering.
Well i dont recall GSP stepping up to fight Chris Leben or Brian Stann, and must have missed Jones bout with Nelson, and Kongo. Its easy talking about beating a guy much larger than you, but not everybody steps up and does it. Bonnar may not be a title contender but he has a chin made from the same granite as Henderson, Rua, and Nelson and is MUCH LARGER than Silva.
Really? I love you Andy but COME ON! If he was facing a top 10 guy like Rua or even Teixeira I would be stoked but this is really a "who cares" kind of fight. We will see a highlight reel KO and that will be entertaining but it won't even be competitive.
Maybe you should have stepped up, you're a real tough customer.
Not thrilled with the lack of talent he will be facing. But glad he stepped in and cant wait to see a crazy KO!
I think this is all great news... glad to see big names stepping up.
I also get the feeling that Anderson is doing everything possible to avoid Weidman - not because he's afraid of him, just because he doesn't want to fight him. Anderson's been silent on GSP for years, now all of a sudden he wants to fight him... or throw his hat in the ring for totally random bouts at LHW.
Anderson Silva was afraid of Chael, Belfort, Dan Henderson and many more. Perhaps he is even afraid of Mighty mouse, right?
Its funny he beat all those guys 1 of them twice, and your still saying he was afraid?
Homie: he said ".... not because he's afraid of him, but because he doesn't want to fight him." Let's get it straight, Weidman is a real challenge, Bonnar is not. There's nothing any of you can say to dispute that. So chill.
its nice that he steps up and saves the card but would have been nice with some competition...
he could as well be fighting martin kampmann..
I don't know why some are complaining about this fight. Silva was on a long break now we get to see him fight. Bonnar is a better match up than some give him credit for. Although nowhere near top 5 in the division it is pretty stacked and he has a proven record of being a tough fight for most he has ever faced.
If he can avoid getting sucked into Silva's fight he could pose some big problems to Silva. If he stands and trades he is up against the best MMA striker in the history of the sport. If he makes it messy he has the size and strength to smother Silva for a unanimous decision.
Props to Silva for taking this fight on short notice as it is lose/lose to him and makes little sense. Would love to see him taking on Evans, Machida or Jones all of which would be superfights. Jones would probably beat him, Machida and Evans would be very interesting, particularly Machida as it would likely be a chess match in the stand up with neither looking to utilise wrestling or TDs. Shame the bald one couldn't have made that match up for Brazilians and the rest of the world would have been awesome!!
Why do guys in the UFC have such a F@#!n problem handling motorcycles??
weidman is ready to go lets get him in there he deserves it 5-0 y snt that fight happending????
Silva is my favorite fighter out there...But what is in it for him to take this fight???
great...we only get to see silva fight like once a year and now it's wasted on Bonnar. What a joke
Yep...I agree with you.
Because some people can't count to two.
Homie: Weidman. Anderson fights once a year and he fights BONNAR?? LOL
I think Silva will destroy him...But, any UFC pro fighter has a punchers chance; it would just suck if Bonnar is the first guy to beat Silva in the UFC from a lucky punch. Hate this fight.
No chance of that happening. Not Bonnar. Silva isn't playing any fvcking games, he wants that platinum record before he retires, and you know it.
dude, wdf is this a joke? Stephan Bonnar... UFC must be getting REAL desperate.
Too many shows going on is really weakening the cards. They need to go back to just doing 1 huge event each month with loaded ass cards...
I think Bonnar has a great chance however , I think he really needs to work on speed in order to connect to a super fast talent Anderson Silva. I see this fight going the distance. IMO.
No matter the result, Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.
What has ever happened to either of these fighters that makes you think Bonnar has a 'great chance' of beating Anderson Silva.
I'd say Bonnar has about a 1.5% chance of winning...
Bonnar has gotta be one of the most hit fighters in UFC. Silva has got to be one of the most illusive fighters in UFC and by far the best all around striker to ever compete in UFC. Logic tells me this is going to end quick.
Sounds like it is time for the UFC to do a little investigating about all these "injuries". This is becoming an epidemic and is ruining the sport. You never used to see this at all. An injury here and htere, but this us ridiculous. Silva vs. Bonnar is the icing on the cake. Hats off to those guys for stepping up but this is a problem that will only get worse as time goes on.
Looked at the UFC 153 poster today and not a single fight on it is going to happen.....due to "injuries".