According to mmafighting.com:
“Wanderlei Silva, who was scheduled to meet Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 on July 3, has been forced to withdraw from the card due to fractured ribs suffered in training, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Tuesday afternoon.”
“UFC is currently working on signing his replacement. No word just yet on who that might be.”
[UPDATE] – Chris Leben rumored to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama:
A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com Leben has agreed to the bout and is expected to sign shortly.
[UPDATE 2] – Chris Leben is confirmed:
Leben’s placement in the fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Tuesday.
[UPDATE 3] – Chris Leben talks Akiyama:
“I don’t know a ton about Akiyama. My coach knows a bunch, but we haven’t even had a chance to talk much about our game plan. I saw him fight Alan Belcher and to be honest with you, I thought he lost that fight. He’s a good Judo guy, he’s got great Judo, fast kicks, maybe not the most power in the world. He’s a little bit shorter than me but he’s a good strong guy. I think that utilizing my skills, keeping it on the feet and clubbing him in the head with my left shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”