(Rua slugs Dan Henderson during their epic bout in November. / Photo courtesy of Heavy)
A matchup between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva is likely for July 21st’s UFC 149 event in Calgary, according to a new report on MMA Junkie. UFC president Dana White tweeted yesterday that the two light-heavyweight strikers would face one another, but didn’t confirm the date or venue.
Silva is coming off of a one-year suspension and a decision loss to Alexander Gustafsson. Winless since his 2009 knockout of Keith Jardine, Silva’s contract may very well be on the line here. Shogun’s last bout, a five-round war/decision loss to Dan Henderson, was widely considered to be the greatest fight in MMA history until this past weekend.
According to multiple sources including MMAFighting and O Globo, the 7/21 event will be headlined by the featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Eric Koch. That matchup was previously tied to UFC 147 in Brazil, which will now reportedly take place in an 18,000-seat venue in Belo Horizonte.
So, Shogun vs. Silva and Aldo vs. Koch in the Great White North. Who takes ‘em and how, nation?