UFC Fight Night 62 just took another big hit.
Ben Saunders suffered an injury in training and is out of his fight with Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare on March 21 in Rio de Janeiro, sources confirmed with MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz. Sherdog.com was the first to report the news. The UFC does not currently have a replacement ready, though it is looking.
Saunders (18-6-2) has two straight wins since returning to the UFC, including the organization’s first-ever omoplata finish last August against Chris Heatherly. Saunders, 31, is coming off a TKO (neck injury) of Joe Riggs at UFC on FOX 13 in December.
Silva (17-5, 1 NC) is one of the most exciting fighters in the welterweight division. In his last fight, the Brazilian defeated Mike Rhodes via first-round submission in December. The 30-year-old has alternated wins and losses since 2012 and will look to go on a run.
UFC Fight Night 62 is headlined by a welterweight contender bout between Demian Maia and undefeated prospect Ryan LaFlare. The card has been decimated by injuries. The original main event was a potential bantamweight title eliminator between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assuncao before Assuncao got hurt.
The co-main event was also affected. Gilbert Burns was initially supposed to meet Josh Thomson until Thomson pulled out. Now, Burns, an undefeated Blackzilians up-and-comer, will meet the debuting Alex Oliveira.
The event will be held at Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio with some prelims and the main card airing live on FOX Sports 1.