Anderson Silva Moves To Light Heavyweight, Meets Stephan Bonnar In The New UFC 153 Main Event

UFC 153 has a new main event, and UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will fight on short notice and take part. For the third time in his UFC career, “The Spider” competes at 205-pounds and will face “The Ultimate Fighter” season one runner up, Stephan Bonnar.

One day after the top of the UFC 153 fight card completely fell apart, the UFC has managed to salvage the event with the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport stepping up to the plate.

The new main event for UFC 153 was confirmed in a report from USA Today.

Silva (32-4) is the undisputed number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. The longtime middleweight champion is undefeated in the UFC at 15-0 with 10 wins by (T)KO. The Brazilian last fought at UFC 148 in July where he defeated nemesis Chael Sonnen by TKO in the second round. Silva’s move to light heavyweight it not permanent, win or lose, he will likely return to 185-pounds to defend his championship. The 37-year-old has fought twice in the UFC at 205-pounds, defeating both James Irvin and Forrest Griffin by first round knockout.

Bonnar (14-7) has contemplated retirement from the sport in recent months, citing that he wanted a big fight or he would hang up his gloves for good. “The American Psycho” was granted his wish by the UFC as he will face by far the biggest challenge of his career at UFC 153 and look to be the first man to hand Silva a loss in the UFC. Bonnar has not competed since defeating Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139 in Nov. 2011, however, the 37-year-old is currently riding his longest win streak since 2005-2006, having won three bouts in a row.

Due to the bout being put together on short notice, the Silva vs. Bonnar bout is scheduled for three rounds, not five like most UFC main events.

UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar goes down from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 13.

To get the latest on UFC 153, click here. For up-to-date versions of all upcoming fight cards, head over to the rumors section.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.