Fresh off first-round wins in December, Erick Silva and Ben Saunders are set to collide in Brazil.
Silva and Saunders, who scored wins over Mike Rhodes and Joe Riggs at UFC Fight Night 58 and UFC on FOX 13, respectively, will meet at the upcoming UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 21. MMAFighting.com confirmed the bout following a report from Lance.
Hoping to start his first win streak in the UFC, Silva (17-5, 1 no-contest) gets back in action following a 75-second submission over Rhodes in Barueri, Brazil. The X-Gym fighter, who lost to Matt Brown prior to his win in December, has bounced between wins and losses since his UFC debut in 2011.
Saunders (18-6-2), who returned to the UFC after a 7-3 run in Bellator between 2011 and 2013, won back-to-back fights against Riggs and Chris Heatherly inside the Octagon, scoring the first-ever omoplata submission in the UFC history over Heatherly in August.
Headlined by a bantamweight clash between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assuncao, UFC Fight Night 62 takes place at the Maracanazinho gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro. A lightweight bout featuring Josh Thomson and Gilbert Burns is also agreed for the fight card.