UFC Fight Night 61 Loses Glover Teixeira, Adds Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva

A Glover Teixeira knee injury has resulted in some shuffling and a new UFC Fight Night 61 main event.

On Wednesday, MMAFighting.com reported that Teixeira has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Rashad Evans, which was expected to headline UFC Fight Night 61 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. To ease the blow to the event, the UFC decided to move a heavyweight matchup between Frank Mir and Antonio Silva up by six days to serve as the new main attraction.

Mir and Silva were previously booked to clash at UFC 184 on February 28. However, since that card already has two title fights lined up, it didn’t exactly need a pair of 35-year-old heavyweights who have been heading in the wrong direction.

Having lost four in a row, Mir and his MMA career could be depending on a win over Silva. While that doesn’t make this a fight relevant to the heavyweight title picture, it makes this a bout worth watching, as it could be the last hurrah for a fighter who has been with the UFC since November 2001.

He’s not in as bad of a spot as Mir is, but Silva has also been struggling. Bigfoot has not won in his past three fights and last got his hand raised in a February 2013 come-from-behind win over Alistair Overeem.

Although they aren’t typical headliners, Mir and Silva might not be as big of a drop off from Teixeira as they seem.

Since earning a title shot with a knockout win over Ryan Bader, Teixeira has not won. The Brazilian has suffered two straight losses and would have needed a win over Evans to remain a legitimate title threat in the light heavyweight class.

Now, Teixeira could actually end up landing a more favorable matchup with a non-wrestler. So, in the end, this news might really only impact one fighter negatively.

Evans has been battling his way back to competition since being forced out of a UFC 170 matchup with Daniel Cormier, who went on to earn a title shot. So, he has to be disappointed now that his return to the Octagon has been delayed by circumstances beyond his control. 

Just spoke to Evans. He said he didn’t know who’s next now because there are no obvious opponents out there. http://t.co/6fgqH6F1Jw

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 7, 2015

It is now unclear whom Evans will compete against next. A bout with Daniel Cormier would be interesting should DC be willing to get back into the cage so soon after his loss to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Following the changes that resulted from Teixeira’s removal, here is a look at the updated UFC Fight Night 61 fight card:

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