UFC 89


UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 18, 2008 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Background

The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben. After the event, Leben tested positive for Stanozolol, a banned substance. He was suspended for a period of 9 months and fined one third of his purse. Leben admitted he had used the substance several months prior to the fight, but stated he had assumed it would have been out of his system by then.
This event aired live in Great Britain and Ireland on Setanta Sports and via tape delay in the United States and Canada on Spike TV. It also aired live via Rogers Sportsnet in Canada. The broadcast drew an average of 2.6 million viewers and peaked with 3.4 million viewers on Spike TV.
Lyoto Machida was scheduled to face fellow undefeated light heavyweight Thiago Silva, but a back injury forced Silva to withdraw from the fight. The fight was rescheduled for UFC 94.

Results

Bonus awards

All fighters were awarded an extra $40,000.