Also on the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will trade punches with another dangerous striker when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Liddell and Rua were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 85 last June, but both men were forced to withdraw from the event with injuries.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion is coming off a loss to the division’s present title holder Rashad Evans and is looking to recapture the magic that saw him win an amazing 14 of 15 UFC matches from 1999-2006. The 39-year-old is now focused on getting back on another winning streak.

Rua (17-3), meanwhile, has not looked like the same fighter who battered Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ricardo Arona and Overeem en route to the 2005 Pride middleweight grand prix title. The dynamic 27-year-old Brazilian submitted to Forrest Griffin in his Octagon debut and struggled to put away Mark Coleman at UFC 93 on Saturday. Conditioning has become a significant concern for Rua, who has fought past the first round only six times in 20 career bouts.

MAIN CARD (PPV - 10pm ET)

* Anderson Silva (c) vs. Thales Leites
UFC Middleweight Championship
* Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
* Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann

PRELIMINARY CARD (unaired)

* Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry
* Ed Herman vs. David Loiseau
* David Bielkheden vs. Mark Bocek

UFC 97 Recap of Fights

* Anderson Silva (c) defeated Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46) - UFC Middleweight Championship

* Mauricio Shogun Rua defeated Chuck Liddell via TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 4:28

* Luis Cane defeated Steve Cantwell by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

* Cheick Kongo defeated Antoni Hardonk via TKO (Strikes) — Round 2 @ 2:29

* Kryzstof Soszynski defeated Brian Stann via Submission (Kimura) — Round 1 @ 3:53

* Sam Stout defeated Matt Wiman via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary UFC 97 Bouts Results:

* Eliot Marshall defeated Vinicius Magalhaes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

* Denis Kang defeated Xavier Foupa-Pokam by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

* Nate Quarry defeated Jason MacDonald via TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 2:27)

* Ed Herman defeated David Loiseau by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

* Mark Bocek defeated David Bielkheden via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) — Round 1 @ 4:57
* TJ Grant defeated Ryo Chonan by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)