UFC boss Dana White confirmed it’ll be Cormier vs Silva at Sunday’s (Australian time) event, with Silva stepping up from his usual middleweight stomping ground to fight at 205lbs – a weight class he’s fought at twice before. He went against Forrest Griffin (2009) and Stephan Bonnar (2012) who he both dominated to win via stoppage.
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Soon after news broke of the matchup, Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsmaker opened the fight with Cormier at -600 and Silva at +400. Anderson Silva is a massive draw and is one of the best case scenarios for salvaging the card on just two days notice.
The UFC interim light heavyweight champion broke into tears at a hastily arranged news conference a day after his rematch with Daniel Cormier was canceled.
Silva (33-7) last fought in February, suffering a decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night in London, England.
Dan Henderson and Gegard Mousasi both made bids to fight Cormier, White said. Jones was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 but was pulled from the event because of a potential…
But nobody lost more than UFC President Dana White, who has already been met with disappointment in the planning of UFC 200.
According to a report by ESPN, Silva is yet to receive medical clearance but the UFC believes there will be no problem. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder later in the week.
Silva gives the card a legitimate bout despite the face he is 41.
In a video released by Fox Sports, Cormier said it’s a privilege to fight Silva.
“Hey man, you’re fighting”, White said, with a laugh, before adding, “It’s good to be a light heavyweight, huh?”
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It is a three-round non-title light heavyweight fight. Meanwhile, the match between women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate against Amanda Nunes will also be still the co-main event if the fight that will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
