Erick Silva
A new Ultimate Fighting Championship event appears to be on schedule for this June in Brazil after a report from SPORTV.com confirmed an upcoming welterweight bout between Erick ‘Índio’ Silva (14-3, 1NC) and John ‘The Hitman’ Hathaway (17-1) for the TUF Brazil 2 Finale.
The Brazilian news agency is reporting the two will meet on June 8th at the Ginásio Paulo Sarasate, an indoor sporting arena in Fortaleza, Brazil, located on the North-East coast of the South American continent. If correct this would mark the promotions first visit to the coastal city.
UFC Tonight Tweeted (@UFCTonight) the news on Wednesday night identifying the event as UFC on FUEL TV 10. The event will apparently host the TUF Brazil 2 reality show finals as well as a heavyweight bout between opposing coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum.
Silva is coming of a couple of injuries to his leg and elbow, both of which forced him out of a UFC 156 match versus Jay Hieron. Silva is just 1-2 in his last three Octagon appearances and will be hungry for a win once he steps into the Octagon opposite Hathaway. The Brazilian lost a decision to Jon Fitch last October in Rio as part of UFC 153. The match did earn both men a “Fight of the Night” bonus though. Silva’s last win took place in June with a first round submission of Charlie Brenneman.
Hathaway has won three in-a-row and is 7-1 so far in the Octagon since debuting with the top promotion back in January 2009. His most recent fight took place in September in Nottigham, England at UFC on FUEL TV 5 where ‘The Hitman’ picked up a decision victory against John Maguire. Hathaway’s two previous wins in his current run include a decision against Pascal Krauss at UFC on FOX 3 and a split decision over Kris McCray at UFN 24.