UFC officials confirmed that a heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and former Strikeforce contender Antonio Silva has been set for UFC 146 on May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Nelson (16-7) has lost five of his last eight bouts and is coming off a unanimous decision loss to another Strikeforce veteran, Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143 on Feb. 26. The winner of season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, known for his rotund shape, recently made the announcement that if enough of his fans “liked” his Facebook page he would drop to the light-heavyweight division. Fans will have to wait for that as his bout with Silva will take place in the 265-pound division.
Silva (16-3) is coming off a knockout loss to Daniel Cormier in the Strikeforce Grand Prix in September. Silva is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with 11 career TKO wins. The 32-year-old has defeated the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez.
UFC confirms UFC 146 main and co-main events
The UFC confirmed that UFC 146 would be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Junior dos Santos and former Strikeforce heavyweight kingpin Alistair Overeem.
The organization also officially added a bout between former UFC heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir to the card.
Velasquez (9-1) is coming off a 64-second KO loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 in November. Velasquez originally won the title when he defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. Eight of Velasquez’s nine wins have come by way of knockout or TKO.
Mir (16-5) is riding a three-fight win streak and coming off a brutal submission win at UFC 140 where he broke Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm with a kimura. Mir also beat Roy Nelson and Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic on his current streak.
Silva replaces Lil Nog in Sweden
Thiago Silva is set to make his return to the UFC following a yearlong suspension.
The UFC announced he will replace the injured Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and fight Alexander Gustafsson in the main event at UFC on FUEL TV 2 on April 14 from Stockholm, Sweden.
Silva (14-2-1 NC) won a unanimous decision over Brandon Vera at UFC 125, but the victory was changed to a no contest after he falsified a urine sample during his post-fight drug screening. The 28-year-old is considered by many to be a top ten ranked light-heavyweight.
His only two losses were to former UFC champions Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.
