UFC 89 announced. Leben vs Bisbing

[Capt.Caveman]

UFC officially announces "UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben" for Oct. 18


The UFC today officially announced "UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben," an event that takes place Oct. 18 at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

The event is headlined by a middleweight bout between England native and "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner Michael Bisping (16-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and veteran middleweight Chris Leben (18-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported the bout last week after Marshall Zelaznik, the head of the UFC's U.K. division, made the announcement on Setanta Television.

Tickets for the event go on sale to the general public on Saturday (July 6). Members of the UFC's fan club can purchase tickets early beginning on Wednesday.

This will be the second attempt at a fight between Bisping and Leben. The two fighters were scheduled for a June 7 event in London. However, Leben was forced off the UFC 85 card when he had to serve jail time for a probation violation stemming from an earlier DUI arrest.

Bisping instead fought -- and defeated via first-round knockout -- Jason Day at the event.

He'll now fight in a UFC-England event for the fourth time.

Leben, who had suffered three losses in the span of four fights, has since rebounded for a third-round knockout of Terry Martin and a first-round TKO of Alessio Sakara to re-emerge as a middleweight contender.

[Cherry Pie]

nice wonder when Amir sadollah will debut

[askewcore]

This is a pretty weak main event ppv fight. TUF finale? Sure, but I aint paying no 40 bucks for Bisping/Leben. This fight will be brought to me by Sopcast

[Capt.Caveman]

This is a pretty weak main event ppv fight. TUF finale? Sure, but I aint paying no 40 bucks for Bisping/Leben. This fight will be brought to me by Sopcast

agreed this has to be a free one...fox deal perhaps?

[TheTruth]

No way that Bisping vs. Leben. This should be a good PPV to have Nogueira defend the title, but they are locked in with the stupid TUF coaches fight vs. Mir. The UFC really has to start having their titles defended more than once a year, and tying in the fights with TUF finales.

[sniper]

And of course this is all contingent on Leben staying out of prison this time.

[Eagle.007]

Dear UFC
Please top holding PPVs that do not include a title fight.
88 with Liddell is pushing it but you have lost your fucking
mind if you expect us to pay for an event headlined by Leben.
This card will suck ass. If Silva wins quickly at UFN 14 can we
please have him defend the belt at 89? I don't even care if it
is against Bisping!

Better yet introduce the 145 class to the UFC and have Faber fight Kid.

Signed,
Your entire fanbase

[TheTruth]

Dear UFC
Please top holding PPVs that do not include a title fight.
88 with Liddell is pushing it but you have lost your fucking
mind if you expect us to pay for an event headlined by Leben.
This card will suck ass. If Silva wins quickly at UFN 14 can we
please have him defend the belt at 89? I don't even care if it
is against Bisping!

Better yet introduce the 145 class to the UFC and have Faber fight Kid.

Signed,
Your entire fanbase

I wouldn't say that Liddell being the main event for a PPV is pushing it he is still a huge draw with or without the title.

[Eagle.007]

The point is, I, and many others, think a title should be on the line at every PPV.

Liddell is absolutely worthy of a main event even without the belt on the line. He is one of the few that this doesn't really apply to. We all should realize that the winner will almost certainly be #1 contender, especially if it is Chuck and he is dominant.

Come on man, they have 5 championships. If the champion had to fight twice a year, which is absolutely reasonable, and you had 12 events then 10 would have a title fight and 2 wouldn't. I'm willing to accept that and so is almost anyone else.

The problem is 85 didn't have a belt up, 88 doesn't and neither does 89. Hughes is "the greatest welterweight of all time", Chuck is, well Chuck, Bisping and Rashad was a battle of unbeatens. Leben simply doesn't fit anywhere in this equation. I understand some people want to see them fight but it is not PPV main event caliber.

Three of 5 is too much, even if the next 5 have one. Leben isn't even close to contention. Silva vs Bisping could be a big draw, especially in England. Everything I'm hearing says if Silva does well, he might stay at 205 for a while. It would be difficult to introduce him to the casual fan without at least one bout, but if Anderson is going to stay at there, the best thing to do would be have Bisping vs Filho for the interim belt. I know they want to keep the UFC and WEC separate and Paulo has to look good against Sonnen.

89 is going to be a difficult sell unless the under card is very solid. Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez is a good start. I said the same thing about 85, this should be on Spike. Fortunately, as of now, that is what I'm hearing. Source (http://www.fightline.com/news/2008/73/ufc_329561.shtml)

[Gotti420]

according to various websites it looks like this is going to be on Spike

Also, Sanchez vs. Alvez is rumored to be on the card too

I agree that a title should be on the line every PPV unless Chuck is fighting, and given the number of divisions it should be possible, but the UFC seems to like to put things on hold every time a new season of TUF comes around and it just doesn't make sense given the declining ratings

[Capt.Caveman]

according to various websites it looks like this is going to be on Spike

Also, Sanchez vs. Alvez is rumored to be on the card too

I agree that a title should be on the line every PPV unless Chuck is fighting, and given the number of divisions it should be possible, but the UFC seems to like to put things on hold every time a new season of TUF comes around and it just doesn't make sense given the declining ratings

how right you are good sir

UFC 89 expected to air via tape delay on Spike TV


UFC 89, an event headlined by Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben, is expected to air on free basic cable as a Spike TV broadcast.

Although a Spike TV official told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the station has no comment at this time, a source close to the event says show organizers plan to air the thee-hour broadcast in prime time via tape delay from The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

Dave Meltzer first reported in the Wrestling Observer that the event would air on Spike TV.

If everything goes to plan, UFC 89 will use the broadcast blueprint used for UFC 70 and UFC 75, two other events that took place in England. After the event takes place live overseas, U.S. audiences (on the East coast, anyway) will get the broadcast on an approximate five-hour delay.

Although the current UFC-Spike TV contract (which runs through 2011) calls for four annual "UFC Fight Night" events, the two parties ocassionally negotiate for other shows, such as the "Ortiz vs. Shamrock III: The Final Chapter" live event that aired in October 2006.
Spike TV pays a flat fee for the broadcast rights and then sells advertising to recoup the costs.

According to Meltzer, the UFC plans to hold a pay-per-view event the weekend after UFC 89. The Spike TV broadcast would serve as a way to promote the event.