Oh how the mighty can fall when they don’t perform to certain standards.
Thales Leites went from a UFC 97 title fight with Middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva to under card duties against gatekeeper Alessio Sakara. For Leites, it will be the opportunity he needs to notch another first round submission win, ala Drew McFedries, and remain relevant in the 185 pound division.
The addition of this fight officially completes a very top heavy fight card.
The main event features a long awaited lightweight title fight between B.J Penn and Kenny Florian. For those that are not aware, Florian has been training with Penn Nemesis and Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre which adds an extra of sizzle to this heated match-up.
In the “other fight” Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will make his long anticipated return to the 205 pound division when the takes on former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. The winner of this fight puts themselves in perfect position for a title shot in the near future.
And in a UFC 101 theme, Amir Sadollah will finally make his “long anticipated” UFC debut since winning Season 7 of the Ultimate Fighter. Sadollah has been nagged by injuries which sidelined him from both his UFC 91 and UFN 17 fights. Amir will finally be in action which is something that is long overdue for most fans of the show.
The full UFC 101 card now includes:
MAIN CARD
- Champ B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian (for UFC lightweight title)
- Champ Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (non-title fight)
- Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah
- Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove
- Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley
- John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory
- Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
- Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle
- Rob Emerson vs. George Sotiropoulos
- Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort
For complete coverage of UFC 101, stay connected to Inside Fights.
