Thiago Silva (Zuffa/UFC)
Replacement sought for Silva for May card
So much for that. A planned rematch between Thiago Silva and Brandon Vera, which was announced earlier this week, will be put on hold.
An injury to Vera has knocked the bout off of UFC on FX 3, which is set for May 15 in Fairfax, Va. The UFC announced Vera’s injury on Saturday afternoon.
The fight was to be a rematch of their UFC 125 fight last year, which Silva won by dominant unanimous decision – only to have the win overturned to a no contest when he tested positive after the fight and admitted to using steroids.
Silva (14-2, 1 NC, 5-2, 1 NC UFC) is still expected to return for the first time since serving a one-year suspension handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission last year. Silva was found to have submitted a false urine sample, and when caught admitted to using steroids prior to the fight with Vera on the Jan. 1 card. Prior to that fight, Silva had lost two of three fights, both to former or future light heavyweight champions in Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.
Vera (12-5, 1 NC, 8-5, 1 NC UFC) was cut from the UFC after his loss to Silva. But after Silva’s suspension and fine, he was ultimately brought back to the promotion for one more chance. He responded with a close decision win over Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 in October. That got him off the schneid after losses to Randy Couture and Jon Jones, plus the overturned loss to Silva.
UFC on FX 3 will be the promotion’s second trip to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, a western suburb of Washington, D.C. The UFC’s first show there was in January 2010 for a Fight Night card headlined by Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard. The UFC visited Washington proper in October for a show on the Versus cable channel.