Belfort Injured & Pulled from Bout Against Cung Le. Wanderlei Silva Steps In.

Not even two weeks after former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort announced on his website that he was now scheduled to fight former Strikeforce champion Cung Le (7-1-0) in what was expected to be the main event for UFC 139 and then moved to co-main event, he has now fallen to injury and is forced out of the bout that would have pitted a UFC star against a Strikeforce star. Stepping up to take on Le, former PrideFC Middleweight Grand Prix winner and champion Wanderlei Silva (33-11-1(1)) will now take on the former Strikeforce champion still in the co-main event. Silva will be coming in after a devastating Rnd1 KO loss to fellow fan favorite and TUF1 alumni Chris Leben at UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber 2, while Le will come into the bout after a sixteen month lay off to continue his movie career. Immediately following Silva's knockout loss to Leben, UFC President Dana White was quick to suggest retirement for the veteran and hinted that he may try to "Chuck Liddell" him. In an interview following the news that Silva was stepping in for Belfort, White made it clear that Silva would be in a must win situation and should he lose, especially by knockout, then he may have no choice but to pressure the veteran into retirement and release him from the promotion. This bout will not be an easy win for Silva who is taking on a pure martial artist with a dangerous striking arsenal. With this bout now serving as the co-main event leading into the headlining bout pitting former PrideFC Middleweight Grand Prix winner Mauricio "Shogun" Rua against former PrideFC Middlewight/Welterweight champion, UFC 17 Middleweight tournament winner, and technically the reigning Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, the leading bouts on this card are turning out to be dream match ups for die hard MMA fans. Will Silva be able to fend off retirement with a win over Le, or will Le make a statement in his promotional debut and open the eyes of die hard UFC fans to the talent that still remains outside the UFC?