| UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 13, 2012 | |||
| Venue | HSBC Arena | |||
| City | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | |||
| Attendance | 16,844[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2.5–$2.6 million[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 410,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar was amixed martial artspay-per-view event held by theUltimate Fighting Championship on October 13, 2012, at theHSBC Arena inRio de Janeiro,Brazil.
Vitor Belfort was expected to faceAlan Belcher at the event. However, Belfort was pulled from the bout to face Light Heavyweight ChampionJon Jones on September 22, 2012 atUFC 152.[3] Belcher also was forced to drop out of the card due to a spinal fracture.[4]
After having their first fight end in a no contest due to an eye poke in the first round, a rematch betweenPhil Davis andWagner Prado was briefly linked toUFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot and then scheduled for this event.[5]
Quinton Jackson was scheduled to faceGlover Teixeira at the event. However, Jackson pulled out of the bout citing an injury,[6] and was replaced byFabio Maldonado.[7] FormerUFC Light Heavyweight ChampionRashad Evans was offered the fight with Teixeira but turned it down due to the short notice.[8]
Geronimo dos Santos was scheduled to fightGabriel Gonzaga at this event. However, dos Santos pulled out of the bout after a blood test showed that he hadantibodies forHepatitis B.[9][10][11] With no time to find a suitable replacement, Gonzaga was pulled from the card.
Erik Koch was expected to faceUFC Featherweight ChampionJosé Aldo in a title fight at this event, but on August 31, 2012, Koch was forced to pull out due to injury. FormerUFC Lightweight ChampionFrankie Edgar had agreed to step in for Koch and fight Aldo for the Featherweight title.[12] However, on September 11, Aldo was also forced to pull out of the event with a foot injury after being involved in a motorcycle accident.[13]
On September 12, 2012, UFC officials announced thatUFC Middleweight ChampionAnderson Silva and formerThe Ultimate Fighter starStephan Bonnar would fight in the main event.[14] Silva was a massive favorite going into the bout,[15] which was a three-round fight. Although all main event fights have been five-round affairs sinceUFC 138, UFC 153 was an exception due to the short notice, along withUFC 234, whenRobert Whittaker pulled out of the event a few hours prior.[16][17]
On November 4, 2012, UFC announced Bonnar had tested positive fordrostanolone, andDave Herman formarijuana. Both fighters were suspended.[18]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Anderson Silva | def. | Stephan Bonnar | TKO (knee to the body and punches) | 1 | 4:40 | |
| Heavyweight | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | def. | Dave Herman | Submission (armbar) | 2 | 4:31 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Glover Teixeira | def. | Fabio Maldonado | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Jon Fitch | def. | Erick Silva | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Phil Davis | def. | Wagner Prado | Submission (anaconda choke) | 2 | 4:29 | |
| Welterweight | Demian Maia | def. | Rick Story | Submission (neck crank) | 1 | 2:30 | |
| Preliminary Card (FX) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Rony Jason | def. | Sam Sicilia | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:16 | |
| Lightweight | Gleison Tibau | def. | Francisco Trinaldo | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Diego Brandao | def. | Joey Gambino | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Sérgio Moraes | def. | Renée Forte | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 3:10 | |
| Preliminary Card (Facebook) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Chris Camozzi | def. | Luiz Cané | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Cristiano Marcello | def. | Reza Madadi | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $70,000 bonuses.[19]
