Embattled The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) star Chris Leben will try to get himself back into the win column against promotion sophomore Jay Silva at UFC Fight Night 20, according to MMAWeekly.com.
No venue is known at this time. And the promotion has yet to officially announce the Spike TV event, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in northern Virgina on Monday, Jan. 11, 2010. Nonetheless, expect those announcements to come soon.
Leben had returned from a nine-month steroids suspension only to get submitted by Jake Rosholt (arm-triangle choke) in front of a hometown crowd at UFC 102: “Couture vs. Nogueira” back on Aug. 29.
“The Crippler” — a Portland-area native who relocated to Hawaii — tested positive for the performance-enhancing illegal steroid known as Stanazolol in the wake of his unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the main event at UFC 89: “Leben vs. Bisping” in Oct. 2008.
As a result, Leben was suspended for nine months and fined one-third of his fight purse. Now the former TUF star can add back-to-back losses to his list of recent setbacks. Expect a very focused and determined Leben to emerge at UFN 20 — it could be a career defining moment.
The dangerous Silva had been perfect through five fights before dropping a unanimous decision loss to another former TUF star, CB Dollaway, at Ultimate Fight Night 19 back on Sept. 16.
After submitting Mark DaPolito in his mixed martial arts debut at Ring of Combat last year, Silva went on an absolute tear, ending his next four contests by way of (technical) knockout.
Like Leben, Silva is a very dangerous and hard-hitting striker — just ask Reggie Orr, who was the victim of a Silva flying knee at “Call to Arms” back in May.
Stay dialed in to MMAmania.com for more on UFC Fight Night 20 as more details emerge in the near future.
