Rafael Cavalcante
A light heavyweight bout appears to be in the works for this July’s upcoming UFC 162 event as former Strikeforce title holder Rafael ‘Feijão’ Cavalcante (11-3, 1NC) meets fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva (14-3, 2NC).
News of the bout surfaced at MMAFighting.com on Wednesday afternoon who learned of the matchup through “sources close to the fight.”
UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman is expected to take place on July 6, 2013 in Las Vegas. The main event like the rest of the show is unofficial with middleweight champ Anderson Silva expected to defend his title versus Chris Weidman.
Both Cavalcante and Silva are coming off “No Contests” in their last bouts following suspensions.
Cavalcante had a submission win over Mike Kyle changed to a “NC” by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for the banned substance stanozolol. That bout took place inside the Strikeforce cage. ‘Feijão’ previously had stopped opponent Yoel Romero in September 2011 by second round KO at the Barnett vs. Kharitonov event. Prior to that Cavalcante lost the Strikeforce 205-lbs strap to Dan Henderson in March 2011 losing by third round TKO.
Silva had a submission win over Stanislav Nedkov at UFC on FUEL TV 5 in November changed to a “NC” after testing positive for marijuana metabolites. Silva was subsequently suspended for six months. The Brazilian is 0-2 with 2 “NC” in his last four bouts, losing to Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on FUEL TV 2 by decision last April. Silva’s last recorded victory took place at UFC 102 in August 2009, with a knockout over Keith Jardine.