(via Getty.)
UFC 198 has just taken a HUGE hit, Nation.
Following his “controversial” decision loss to Michael Bisping at Fight Night 84 in February, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva was booked in a quick turnaround match against Uriah Hall at UFC 198 this weekend. It was an odd, if intriguing matchup from a fan’s perspective, and one that presented an opportunity for two of the UFC’s flashiest strikers to secure a much-needed win.
But now, just three days out from their scheduled meeting, Anderson Silva has been forced off of UFC 198 with one of the more unusual injuries to hit the headlines this year.
Details after the jump.
According to Yahoo, Silva officially withdrew from the card late last night after experiencing severe abdominal pains, which upon further inspection, were revealed “to be consistent with acute cholecystitis” — an inflammation of the galbladder.
Silva was then rushed to the hospital to undergo immediate surgery, which MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz ?informs us was a rousing success.
Update: Anderson Silva's surgery was a success and he will be cleared from the hospital Friday, Dr. Tannure told me.
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) May 11, 2016
Now facing a 4-6 week recovery, the question now becomes whether Silva will be healthy enough to compete on the UFC 200 card in July. In either case, it seems that UFC will not be seeking a replacement for Uriah Hall.
In somewhat lesser injury news, BJ Penn’s totally-unwanted return fight just took a big hit in the form of his opponent, Dennis Siver, who has been forced out of the bout with an undisclosed injury. With the UFC currently scrambling to find Penn an opponent, an unexpected voice has emerged from the pack in TUF 22 finalist Artem Lobov, who took to Twitter with an interesting proposition:
@bjpenndotcom If you let me fight you I will donate 50% of my purse to charity…Lets have a fight and help those in need!!! @ufc #Legend
— Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA) May 11, 2016
All things considered, this isn’t the worst fight you could book on short notice. I mean, sure, Lobov is almost a complete non-entity to most MMA fans (and is also a whopping 0-2 in his UFC career), but he’s also a guy who both places entertainment above strategy and stands next to no chance of defeating Penn on even his best day. That’s what Penn’s unretirement is all about, right? Proving that he still has enough left in the tank to compete with *any* UFC fighter, regardless of their proximity to an actual title? He was booked against Siver, after all, who the UFC has been treating like a professional fall guy ever since he tested positive for a testicle-preserving banned substance back at UFC 168. I’m just saying that the UFC should do whatever it has to to avoid another BJ Penn breakdown, and Lobov seems like their best bet.
The post Injury Roundup: Anderson Silva Out of UFC 198, Dennis Siver Pulled From BJ Penn Fight appeared first on Cagepotato.