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2008-05-09 01:55:45
Chris Leben - Michael Bisping Fight Officially Postponed
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UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has officially confirmed today that the proposed Chris Leben / Michael Bisping fight that was slated to take place on UFC 85 has been "postponed".
This is yet another blow to UFC 85 which is taking place on June 7th in London, England.
This was one of the replacement fights that the UFC added to the card after Chuck Liddell pulled out of the main event due to injury. Liddell was originally supposed to square off against Rashad Evans in the main event of the card, but ended up injuring one of his hamstring muscles.
This meant that the UFC had to scramble to find some adequate replacement matches for the card. They replaced Liddell vs Evans in the main event with Matt Hughes vs Thiago Alves to satisfy the North American PPV audience. Then they decided to book a "local boy" to headline one of the main fights on the card - Michael Bisping. The UFC (correctly) figured that adding a big-name, homegrown talent to the card would satisfy the local residents of London who had bought expensive tickets to the show.
Bisping was booked to fight Chris Leben. The problem was that Leben had an outstanding warrant out for his arrest in Oregon, and that would have led to severe problems getting a visa to enter England. Leben decided to face the music and turn himself in to Oregon authorities, hoping that he would serve 8-10 days in jail and then be free and clear to train for a month and then fight Michael Bisping at UFC 85.
Leben turned himself in on April 30th and was sentenced today to 35 days of jail time, including the 8 days that he had already served. This would lead to a release on about June 5th, just two short days before his proposed fight with Michael Bisping. Leben would be able to technically make the show and fight, but he wouldn't have any time to train. This led Joe Silva, UFC matchmaker, to "postpone" the match.
This is extremely disappointing news for Leben, Michael Bisping and the UFC. A Michael Bisping match would have been extremely appealing to residents of the United Kingdom. This will lead the UFC to yet again scramble for a suitable replacement fight.
According to various published reports, Dan Henderson is willing and able to step in and fight on this card. We should hear what UFC's plans are over the next couple of days.
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