UFC Confirms Next European Show to Be in Birmingham on October 18th

According to Fighters Only Magazine, UFC executive Marc Ratner announced on Thursday that the UFC would be returning to England later this year. During an appearance on the Setanta News Ultimate Talk Show, Ratner announced that the UFC would be holding an event on October 18th in Birmingham, England.

Rumors have been circulating for a while about a possible October show in England.

According to the website, this event will mark the likely debut of British welterweight Dan Hardy.

Chris Leben might finally be getting a chance to fight Michael Bisping as well at this event. The UFC will surely be eager to have Bisping fighting on this card, and the two were originally supposed to square off at UFC 85. Leben was forced to pull himself from the card after finding himself in jail for longer than he had previously anticipated. Leben had turned himself in for a previous DUI arrest in Oregon, as he had to serve his time in jail or else he wouldn't be allowed into England. Unfortunately for Leben, he was sentenced to 35 days in jail, instead of the hoped-for 10-12 days. This left him with no time to prepare for the fight, so the UFC canceled the bout. Bisping went on to crush Jason Day at UFC 85.

There are also rumors that Anderson "Spider" Silva will be defending his middleweight title on this card, possibly against Yushin "Thunder" Okami. The UFC will need to add a big name to headline this card, and Silva seems to make the most sense. Chuck Liddell is already fighting Rashad Evans at UFC 88, and will be unavailable to fight on this card.

I am sure that the UFC are hoping for a smoother show compared to the UFC 85 card. That show was littered with injuries and fight cancellations, and the main event of the card turned out to be a Matt Hughes - Thiago Alves fight that received a lukewarm response from fans.

We'll have more on this card as details become known.

Source: Fighters Only Magazine

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