Anderson Silva Reportedly Accepts Short Notice Fight With Daniel Cormier At UFC 200
Earlier today, UFC president Dana White guaranteed that Daniel Cormier would still fight on the UFC 200 card, despite the fact that his original opponent – Jon Jones – had been pulled from the show. There have been a ton of people who have stepped up and volunteered to be DC’s opponent with just two days notice, but, it’s looking like the current Light Heavyweight Champ’s opponent may end up being former Middleweight Champion, and possibly the greatest mixed-martial-artist of all-time, Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
According to Globo, Anderson Silva has accepted the fight with the current Light Heavyweight Champion, and, according to sources who are close to the situation, the fight between the two will not be for the Light Heavyweight Title, and it’ll be a three-round bout.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has tweeted out a pair of texts from Dana White which say that Globo is wrong, and that Silva will not be facing Cormier this coming Saturday night. White also said that they are still trying to find an opponent for DC, which they need to do prior to tomorrow night’s weigh-ins.
White via text: Globo is wrong.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016
Text from White: "There is no fight made. We are talking to several fighters." Btw: weigh-ins are TOMORROW. This is innnsane.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016
Anderson Silva was supposed to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 198 in Brazil, but he had to be pulled off the card due to him needing his gallbladder removed. Prior to that, his most recent fight was with Michael Bisping, where he lost via unanimous decision.
Silva hasn’t won a fight since October of 2012, where he knocked out Stephan Bonnar. Of course, Silva did win a decision over Nick Diaz last year, but that bout was ruled a no-contest after both he and Diaz were suspended due to drug test violations. So, technically, Silva’s last win came in 2012, and he’ll be entering his next fight on a three fight losing streak, with two losses coming to Chris Weidman, and one coming to Michael Bisping.
Silva has fought at 205 pounds before, so making the move to light heavyweight wouldn’t be anything new for him. He also fits right in the weight-range that Cormier wants his short-notice opponent to be at, which is anywhere from 185 pounds to 225 pounds.
There have been a ton of rumors surrounding who Cormier’s opponent at UFC 200 will be, and one of the names that keeps popping up is longtime light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, who took DC to the limit in October of last year.
Gustafsson posted an update on his Twitter page not too long ago saying that he could be in Las Vegas, which is the site of UFC 200, if the UFC needs him to fill in for Jon Jones. Of course, we still don’t know if the UFC has decided on an opponent for DC, and we don’t know if Gustafsson has made the trip to Vegas. But, if he is spotted there, it’s likely that he’ll be Cormier’s opponent on Saturday night.
Other fighters such as “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Michael Bisping, Gegard Mousasi, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone have volunteered to step up and face Daniel Cormier with just two days notice, but Dana White has already shot down the Bisping fight, and DC vs. Cerrone probably won’t happen because of the massive weight difference between the two men. So, we may end up seeing either Lawlor or Mousasi get the fight.
There’s also a chance that Dana White is denying the Anderson Silva rumor because he wants to officially announce it himself later tonight. He did the same thing with the Brock Lesnar rumor prior to UFC 199 last month, but that story did get out before he wanted it to.
[Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images]
