Wanderlei Silva meets Chris Leben at UFC 132 in Las Vegas

[Cavamatic]

They wanted it, and now they have it.

 

Following a long campaign on Twitter and in the media, middleweights Chris Leben (21-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) have hooked up a meeting at UFC 132.

 

UFC officials announced the fight earlier today.

 

UFC 132 takes place July 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and features a long-awaited rematch between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, and the only man to ever beat him, former WEC champ Urijah Faber.

 

"Two fan favorites will go to war as Chris 'The Crippler' Leben has verbally agreed to face Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva in Las Vegas July 2nd," UFC president Dana White stated in the official announcement.

 

Leben is the opponent Silva has settled on after turning down a fight with Brian Stann at the summer event and after public call-outs of Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. The former PRIDE champion is returning from an extended layoff after a severe knee injury he suffered while training for a bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 this past July.

 

Silva most recently fought at UFC 110, where he eked out a split decision victory over Michael Bisping.

 

Leben, meanwhile, is back in action after being upset by Stann at UFC 125 this past January. That set him back from his previous fight in which he stepped in for the injured Silva and surged forward in career momentum with a submission victory over Akiyama, which came two weeks after a TKO victory over Aaron Simpson at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale.

 

Silva vs. Leben is likely to serve on the main card of UFC 132, though its position could not be verified at the time of this writing.

 

Going to be a great fight.