(Well, it’s not like he didn’t try to tell us that he wouldn’t be available.)
You guys remember yesterday, right? As in the day before today? Also known as the day the Thiago Silva vs. Ovince St. Preux fight was announced by the UFC? Well GUESS AGAIN, MOTHERFUCKERS:
As of this write up, no specific reason (training injury, upcoming Ziggy Marley concert) has been given for Silva’s withdrawal from the fight. However, recent history seems to indicate that either:
a.) The UFC booked the fight and Silva immediately injured himself, which he is wont to do.
b.) The UFC assumed Silva was healthy and booked the fight without even consulting him first.
Given how quickly the Jones/Teixeira and Lil Nog/Gustafsson fights were scratched (the former on two separate occasions), it’s safe to assume that option B is the most likely scenario here.
This also begs the question: If the UFC is planning to hold 50ish events in 2014 and is already struggling to find enough healthy fighters for a 30ish event schedule, will fighters even know who they’re facing before they step into the cage come next year? Personally, I hope they don’t, if only because it will provide us with more classic moments like this:
Ah, the good ol’ days.