The UFC has done some damage control after losing their star player for UFC 85’s main event, Chuck Liddell. They have attempted to repair the damage by adding three big bouts to the card which now is eleven fights strong.

UFC.com has officially announced that former two time welterweight champ, Matt Hughes, will battle "The Pitbull" Thiago Alves in the UFC 85 main event. This bout replaces the original match up between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans that was cancelled after Chuck had to pull out due to a hamstring injury.

Apparently some good has come out of the situation involving Chuck’s withdrawal and all of the fight card mayhem.

TheFightNetwork.com announced on Thursday that UFC 85 will be a free Spike TV event in an effort to soften the blow to fans of Chuck who were expecting to pay to see him fight.

A spectacular match up between two middleweight brawlers has been added to the card featuring Chris "The Crippler" Leben and Michael "The Count" Bisping. This fight has knock out written all over it and most likely won’t live to see the second round. Bisping recently made his middleweight debut defeating Charles McCarthy via TKO after McCarthy was unable to continue due to an arm injury. The Count looks quick and lean at his new weight and looks to make it two in a row against Leben.

Chris Leben has won his last two in a row with a recent TKO victory over Alessio Sakara at UFC 82 back in March. A revitalized Leben finished off Sakara via punches at 3:16 in the first round. Leben appears to be back on his game and looked better than ever in his last two fights.

The third addition to the UFC 85 card will pit James "The Sandman" Irvin against the undefeated Rashad Evans. Irvin will be stepping in to replace Liddell who was originally slated to fight Evans in the main event. James Irvin is coming off of a stunning 8 second knockout victory over fellow knock out artist, Houston Alexander at Fight Night 13. The Sandman shocked spectators when the first punch he threw, a superman punch, sent Houston to the mat where he was finished off with a couple of punches.

Due to the recent changes made to the card, the Thales Leites vs Nate Marquardt match, has been moved down to the preliminary card.

Here is the official UFC 85 fight card as of now.

• Thiago Alves vs Matt Hughes
• Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben
• Marcus Davis vs Mike Swick
• Rashad Evans vs James Irvin
• Brandon Vera vs Fabricio Werdum
• Martin Kampmann vs Jorge Rivera (prelim)
• Thiago Tavares vs Matt Wiman (prelim)
• Thales Leites vs Nate Marquardt (prelim)
• Luiz Cane vs Jason Lambert (prelim)
• Roan Carneiro vs Ryo Chonan (prelim)
• Antoni Hardonk vs Neil Wain (prelim)

Although not official, Jess Liaudin vs Paul Taylor is also confirmed for the event which in the end will produce a total of thirteen bouts. One more bout has yet to be announced.

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