Anderson Silva, Stephan Bonnar Cleared for UFC 153 Main Event in Brazil

Bonnar, a 10-to-1 underdog, tipped the scales at 205 pounds for his date with middleweight champion Anderson Silva (202) in the UFC 153 main event on Saturday at the HSBC Arena. The non-title bout will be fought over three rounds. The 10 other men booked for duty on the main card, including heavyweight co-headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (243) and Dave Herman (244), also met their contracted weight requirements without incident at Friday’s official weigh-in.

A finalist on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Bonnar has quietly pieced together a three-fight winning streak of his own. The 35-year-old Hammond, Ind., native last fought at UFC 139 in November, when he captured a unanimous decision from the American Kickboxing Academy’s Kyle Kingsbury at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Notoriously durable, he has been finished only twice in his 22-bout career, both times on cuts. A Carlson Gracie protégé, Bonnar holds an 8-6 mark in the UFC.

UFC 153 “Silva vs. Bonnar” -- which airs live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT -- will also feature two light heavyweight duels, as Glover Teixeira (204) meets Fabio Maldonado (203) and Phil Davis (206) collides with Wagner Prado (204), along with a pair of welterweight matchups, as Jon Fitch (170) faces Erick Silva (169) and Rick Story (170) locks horns with Demian Maia (170).

Two hours prior, the FX network will carry four preliminary bouts: Sam Sicilia (146) vs. Rony Mariano Bezerra (145), Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (154), Diego Brandao (144) vs. Joey Gambino (146) and Sergio Moraes (169) vs. Renee Forte (169). The two remaining undercard matches will stream live to the UFC’s Facebook page at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT, as Chris Camozzi (185) tackles Luiz Cane (184) and Reza Madadi (155) squares off with Cristiano Marcello (155).

UFC 153 “Silva vs. Bonnar” Weigh-In Results: