Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben Agree to Meet at UFC 132

Chris Leben is getting what he asked for and fighting his personal hero, Wanderlei Silva, at UFC 132 on July 2 in Las Vegas.

The UFC made the fight announcement early Monday evening via its website.

Silva (33-10-1, 1 NC) last saw action nearly 14 months ago at UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez where the former Pride light heavyweight champion fought three rounds with Michael Bisping. The fight ended in a decision with Silva getting the nod, although Bisping was vocal about believing he won the fight.

Leben (25-7) was last seen in a losing effort against Brian Stann at UFC 125: Resolution in January earlier this year. The loss was his first after three impressive wins in 2010 against Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson, and then Yoshihiro Akiyama.

A couple weeks ago, MMAWeekly.com reported Leben’s desire to fight Silva – a fighter he personally has a tremendous amount of respect for.

“(He) would like to reiterate his desire to compete against a legend of the sport and personal hero of his in Wanderlei Silva,” Leben’s manager, Gary Ibarra, said about his client.

UFC 132 also includes a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz and former featherweight title holder Urijah Faber. The title bout is slated to be the main event on the card.

MMAWeekly.com will continue to follow up on more UFC 132 bouts as more information becomes available.