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

- 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.

- 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?

- 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:

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.

From Fighters Only Magazine:

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.