UFC 138 Set for LG Arena at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England

The Ultimate Fighting Championship pulled a rabbit out of its hat with the recent announcement of UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz for Nov. 5 in Birmingham, England.

That will have been more than a year since the promotion landed in the U.K. and British fans were getting a bit anxious. UFC officials even thought that an event in England was unlikely for 2011 due to the difficulty in lining up a venue with an appropriate date for television.

Out of nowhere, Birmingham hit the radar. MMAWeekly.com sources say that the date opened up for the LG Arena at the National Exhibition Centre adjacent to the city’s airport and railway station. The arena has an approximate capacity of 16,000.

The promotion’s last trip to Birmingham, UFC 89 in October of 2008, was at the National Indoor Arena.

UFC 138 features a main event between Top 10 middleweights Chris Leben and Mark Munoz for a bump up the ladder to a title shot.