Wanderlei Silva out of UFC 116

Yep, gutted myself about this.

Also Sexyama may be pulling out....

"I am not pleased with the change. There are just ten days left until the contest for me to determine [Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me. If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name. I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen ... In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue."

Yep, just read that about Sexyama.  I see where he's coming from but I think it'll be bad for his UFC career if he starts ducking a mid-tier fighter who fought just a few weeks back.  He's very unlikely to get a big-name replacement just 10 days before the event. 

Anyway, I don't think it takes 10 days to work out Leben...

be very bad for his ufc career,dana wont allow him to just pull out i dont think. He should beat leben easy enough anyway,unless he stands in front of him,id love to see leben pull this off!

Sources: Despite protests, Yoshihiro Akiyama will fight Chris Leben at UFC 116

(www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the promotion that despite some initial resistance to facing a new opponent, Japanese judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has indeed agreed to face Chris Leben (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) at next week's UFC 116 event in Las Vegas.

Akiyama had expressed some concern with the the late change of opponent, as Leben was selected earlier this week to replace initial foe Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) after "The Axe Murderer" was forced to bow out due to injury.

According to the U.K.-based Fighters Only magazine, Akiyama told Korean MMA blog Daum.net that he might elect to withdraw from the event rather than face Leben.

"I am not pleased with the change," the report stated. "There are just 10 days left until the contest for me to determine [Leben’s] threats and the time is insufficient to establish a tailored gameplan. Leben is also not as high-profile as [Wanderlei] Silva and that does not help me.

"If there is to be a replacement, I was hoping for a big name. I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment. My motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen. ... In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue."

While it's not immediately known what, if anything, was needed to persuade Akiyama, the sources indicated to MMAjunkie.com that the UFC is moving forward as planned with the Akiyama-Leben contest.

Featuring a heavyweight title unification match between current champ Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Shane Carwin, "UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin" takes place July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs live on pay-per-view.

Leben is the man if he pulls this off.

is their bounce factor for MMA fighters? lol.

This will be a heroic on Leben's part, taking the fight took more bottle than most have to offer on such short notice. You can't not admire a man who's always game. And he doesn't even fight as smart. The man will tell you himself, he's there to stand up and "STILL put the stamp on kids."

It'll hurt him in the long run, he makes for one of the best showmen, just like Silva. They do it for the fans and the sport. And they understand how important it is to keep the sport moving on.

Leben must have pocketed something on the side for taking this on though right? ... a little extra bonus for fillin in Silva's shoes?