Anderson Silva isn’t the only fighter who’s now stepped in to salvage the UFC 153 fight card in Rio, with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Dave ‘PeeWee’ Herman and Fabio Maldonado also having been drafted in as replacements.
Firstly, in the new co-main event Maldonado steps in to replace Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson against Glover Teixeira.
Maldonado isn’t the big name fighter Teixeira might have been hoping for to help propel him towards title contention at 205lbs, but nevertheless, despite having an 0-2 record so far in the UFC Maldonado has gained praised for his technical striking and should put on an entertaining fight for the fans.
Meanwhile, ‘Big Nog’ returns to action in his native Brazil for the first time since his infamous fight with Frank Mir in which he had his arm snapped by a kimura submission to face Dave Herman.
His return to action is somewhat surprising given that he had already had to delay getting back into the Octagon after admitting that he’d tried to return to soon after the breakage, so now stepping in to fight on just four weeks notice is hardly ideal.
Nevertheless, Herman, who’s lost his last two fights in the UFC, is the kind of opponent that ‘Big Nog’ will likely feel he matches up well against and he’ll no doubt be motivated to perfrom in front of his home fans again.
With Anderson Silva Vs Stephan Bonnar also installed as the main event the UFC have now successfully righted the ship for the UFC 153 event and fans can now look forward to an exciting fight card in Rio once again.
