Anderson Silva underwent successful surgery to remove his gallbladder after the former UFC middleweight champion was forced to withdraw from a scheduled UFC 198 bout with Uriah Hall.
The 41-year-old began suffering abdominal pain Monday, which ultimately required surgery.
“Earlier this week, medical personnel determined that Anderson Silva was suffering from inflammation of the gallbladder, a serious ailment that forced him off the UFC 198 card,” a UFC statement read. “As a result of the condition, Silva had successful, minimally invasive surgery in Brazil [Wednesday] to remove the gallbladder. He is now resting comfortably following the procedure. The recovery period following the surgery is estimated at 4-6 weeks and Silva will be reexamined by doctors before being cleared to return to training.”
Silva has expressed gratitude to fans that wished him well. His physical trainer, Rogerio Camoes, even mentioned that Silva is a eyeing a return on the upcoming UFC 200 card July 9.
“Thank God everything went fine and Anderson is already planning his return,” Camoes told Sherdog.com. “He told me, ‘Master, pack everything up. We’re going to UFC 200.’ The most important thing is that he kept his mind strong and didn’t lose his motivation. On the contrary, he’s really motivated to take part at that historical UFC 200 event.”
Penn gets new opponent for return to cage
Dennis Siver suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw from his UFC 199 featherweight bout against former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn. Cole Miller has been named Siver’s replacement. Miller broke into the UFC following an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 5. During that season, Miller was on Jens Pulver’s team, while Penn was the other coach.
Maynard dropping to featherweight
In one final attempt to get back to the top of a division, former lightweight contender Gray Maynard is dropping to 145 pounds to fight Fernando Bruno at the TUF 23 Finale July 8 in Las Vegas. Maynard has lost four straight and only has one victory since 2010. His last outing was a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Yakovlev last April.
USADA flags another fighter
Brazilian Carlos Diego Ferreira has been removed from his upcoming fight with Abel Trujillo after being flagged by USADA. The UFC released the following statement regarding Ferreira’s potential doping violation.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) informed Carlos Diego Ferreira of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation, stemming from a recent out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Ferreira has received a provisional suspension, and has been removed from his scheduled bout against Abel Trujillo on May 29 in Las Vegas.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.
UFC will announce a replacement opponent for Trujillo shortly, while additional violation information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
Ferreira holds wins over TUF 16 winner Colton Smith plus TUF finalists Ramsey Nijem and Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
