Silva is 3-0 at 205 as a light heavyweight with wins over James Irvin, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin.
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After the news broke about Jones on Wednesday night, Cormier had said he was willing to fight at UFC 200 still if the fight “makes sense”. As it turns out, that wonderful period with zero drama leading up to UFC 200 was just the eye of the storm as the day before the official weigh-ins, the shit hit the proverbial.
Silva usually fights at 185 pounds, but he has been known to jump up to 205.
However, Silva insisted that the fight be at 205lbs since he’s moving up from middleweight on short notice, and Dana White agreed with that.
Silva, the longest reigning champion in UFC history, last fought in February when he was defeated by Michael Bisping. However, Silva will require final medical clearance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, but the UFC expects Silva to be cleared.
‘The Spider’ was scheduled to return to action at UFC 198 in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, but was forced to withdraw from the card after having to undergo emergency gall bladder surgery.
“I am honored to share the Octagon with the one of the greatest fighters of all time”, Cormier said. He added that among those who wanted the fight, Silva was chosen as they believe that he has no problems when it comes to their Anti-Doping policy. “I’m here to challenge myself, and I think that I haven’t trained in a few months, but I think that I’m in good condition to go in there and put on a good fight”. He returned to action in January 2015 in UFC 183.
Silva hasn’t won in the UFC since 2012 and after he lost his title to Chris Weidman in UFC 162.
“I’ve gone through a lot of phases in my UFC career and no one else has really been able to beat what I have done”, Silva said via ESPN.
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Miesha Tate v Amanda Nunes has now been promoted to the main event slot, while Lesnar is making his heavyweight comeback against Mark Hunt.
