Leben Replaces Wanderlei at UFC 116

Less than a week after his latest Octagon appearance, Chris Leben has agreed to replace the injured Wanderlei Silva against Yoshihiro Akiyama in the UFC 116 “Lesnar vs. Carwin” co-main event on July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. UFC officials on Friday announced the change.

Leben, out of Oahu, Hawaii, will carry a two-fight winning streak into the match. The 29-year-old fought six days ago at “The Ultimate Fighter 11” Finale in Las Vegas, where he stopped the previously unbeaten Aaron Simpson on second-round strikes. Victories against American Kickboxing Academy standout Mike Swick, Strikeforce middleweight contender Benji Radach and current Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago anchor his resume. In 26 career bouts, Leben has only been knocked out once -- by UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva.

Unbeaten in his past 14 appearances, Akiyama has not tasted defeat since his 2005 loss to Jerome LeBanner. The 34-year-old judo black belt last competed at UFC 100 in July, when he notched a split decision over Alan Belcher in his promotional debut. He owns other notable victories against 2005 Pride Fighting Championships welterweight grand prix finalist Denis Kang and Dutch juggernaut Melvin Manhoef. Akiyama has secured 12 of his 13 wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin
Saturday, July 3
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas

UFC Heavyweight Championship
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch
Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz
Ricardo Romero vs. Seth Petruzelli
Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola