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UFC 89 FREE ON SPIKE; VERA VS. JARDINE CONFIRMED
Monday, July 28, 2008 - by MMAWeekly.com

On Monday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced that UFC 89, taking place in Birmingham, England would, as previously rumored, be shown for free on Spike TV on a same-day tape delay. The event will broadcast in the United States at 9pm EST/PST.

The promotion also confirmed that former heavyweight fighter, Brandon Vera, will have a prolonged stay at 205lbs as he is set to face off against former “Ultimate Fighter” season 2 cast member, Keith Jardine at UFC 89.

Vera made his debut at 205lbs on July 19 where he pulled out a unanimous, albeit lackluster, win over UFC newcomer, Reese Andy. Jardine will return for the first time since May when he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Wanderlei Silva.

The main event for the England show will be popular countryman Michael Bisping taking on the very heavy handed, Chris Leben. Also on the card will be two more light heavyweight tilts as Thiago Silva takes on another undefeated phenom in Lyoto Machida, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou squares off against Luis Cane.

The card will also feature Chris Lytle as he faces Paul Taylor and Marcus Davis against Paul Kelly in welterweight action.

FIGHT CARD:

-Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
-Lyoto Machida (#5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Thiago Silva (#10 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (#7 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Luiz Cane
-Keith Jardine (#9 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Brandon Vera
-Akihiro Gono vs. Dan Hardy
-Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly
-Jess Liaudin vs. David Bielkheden
-Sammy Schiavo vs. Per Eklund
-Sam Stout vs. Terry Etim
-Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain
-Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
-David Baron vs. TBA