We will have to wait a little bit longer for the rematch between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva. UFC president Dana White today told the LA Times that the UFC was considering having Weidman and Silva headline UFC 168, which takes place Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, NV, but after further deliberation White decided that Weidman vs. Silva will take place at a later date and the main event of UFC 168 will remain as Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate for the women’s bantamweight championship. Personally, I would have preferred if the UFC had done Weidman vs. Silva as the main event of UFC 168 because I want to see these two end their feud and I believe it would have made more sense to have it end at the end of this year. However, I understand what the UFC is attempting to do here. I believe that they’re planning on having Weidman vs. Silva as the main event of next year’s Super Bowl weekend card, an event which takes place New Jersey, which is close to where Weidman lives in New York city. The event would obviously sell out whatever arena it takes place in and I believe that this rematch will do over 1,000,000 pay-per-view buys just because of the stunning nature of the first fight and the anticipation of what could have in a second go-around between these two. As for Rousey vs. Tate II, I’m not intrigued in this matchup at all and I don’t believe it is a suitable main event for the UFC’s year-end card. I think that this would be a better co-main event and I would actually like the UFC to book the winner of Jose Aldo vs. The Korean Zombie against Ricardo Lamas in the main event of UFC 168 instead, with Rousey vs. Tate in the co-main event slot. Obviously Rousey is a bigger draw though and that’s why she’s getting the main event slot, but I don’t feel as though this rematch with Tate will be competitive at all as I believe that Rousey will defeat Tate faster than she did the first time these two fought. Leben Given TUE For Suboxone The Nevada State Athletic commission granted Chris Leben a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the painkkiller suboxone for his UFC 162 bout with Andrew Craig, according to a report from MMAjunkie.com. According to the story, the painkiller is taken by those with narcotic dependencies. Leben obviously has had a very tough time in his personal life as he’s dealt with numerous drug and alcohol addictions throughout his career, and they’ve definitely taken a toll on him in the cage as he hasn’t looked good at all in his last few fights, including a very mediocre outing against Craig, a fight which he lost via decision. Although Leben is tough and a warrior, he is too tough for his own good and I believe it’s time for him to hang it up. I doubt that will happen, though, since he’s an exciting fighter and the UFC likes him, but for his own healthy and safety I believe it’s time he left the sport.
