That was fast.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, may not get that desired Nick Diaz rematch at the upcoming UFC 237 pay-per-view (PPV) event, but at least “The Spider” will be able to fight in his native Brazil.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the aging Brazilian striker will face Jared Cannonier at the upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Sat., May 11, 2019, at a venue to be named. Previously removed for Curitiba, UFC 237 is now being targeted for Rio de Janeiro.
Silva (34-9,1 NC) is fresh off a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya, which went down a few weeks ago in the UFC 234 main event in Melbourne, Australia (highlights). Cannonier (11-4), meanwhile, was last seen knocking out David Branch at UFC 230, putting a stop to his losing woes after dropping his previous two fights.
The matchup is a bit surprising to say the least.
Nevertheless, Silva will make a quick turnaround following his recent loss to “The Last Stylebender” in what seems like a concerted effort to burn through the remaining fights on his then-record UFC contract.
Early predictions?