The train of injuries that continues to shut down major UFC bouts in 2012 is still rolling on.
MMAJunkie.com has reported that Thiago Silva has had to pull out of a July contest with former light-heavyweight champion Shogun Rua due to an injury.
There are a handful of options who do not have upcoming fights on the docket, including former champion Rashad Evans and rising contender Alexander Gustafsson.
What’s surprising, however, is that the UFC is interested in promotion newcomer Glover Teixeira squaring off against the former champion.
Teixeira had an incredibly impressive debut against Kyle Kingsbury on the undercard of UFC 146 last weekend, and the UFC thinks he is ready to swim with the sharks.
“With Thiago hurt, we turned to Glover and asked him to go right back in to fight ‘Shogun’ at UFC 149,” White told MMAjunkie.com. “But ‘Shogun’s’ people are adamantly refusing to take the fight. They want nothing to do with Glover.”
There are a pair of good reasons that Shogun’s team may not be interested in the contest. First and foremost, they may feel that Teixeira hasn’t earned a bout of such stature. Another possibility is that they recognize how dangerous of a challenge he presents, and they would like to avoid the matchup until they can get more tape on him.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more information on this as it’s available.
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