Thiago Silva vs Keith Jardine rumoured for UFC 125
Two top light-heavyweight mixed martial artists in the Ultimate Fighting Championships are going to get a chance to reverse recent losses at UFC 125, reported MMAjunkie.com. The site reported late on Tuesday that Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Thiago Silva, two 205lb Muay Thai practitioners, will be meeting in what should be a fight to determine who is still relevant to the title picture in the division.
Both fighters are 1-2 in their last three fights. Vera defeated Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 102 via unanimous decision. He then starred in the main event of two free cable-broadcast UFC cards, first losing to Randy Couture in a very controversial decision at UFC 105 in Britian. Based on the very close result and Vera’s name value, the UFC then threw him in the main event of their first Versus network card, where he was beaten in the first round by the rising star Jon Jones.
Vera was once considered to be one of the top stars in UFC fighting at heavyweight level, displaying a very good Muay Thai striking game that saw him tear through the division, and he once claimed he would be the first to hold two belts simultaneously at heavyweight and light-heavyweight, but that never materialised as he fizzled out somewhat. With two losses, he’ll be fighting for relevance in the division.
Silva was likewise considered a rising star in the division before he was derailed. He is known for possessing a very aggressive Muay Thai striking style that seeks the knock-out. Having won his first four fights in the UFC, he entered a fight against Lyoto Machida with a record of 13-0, but the also-undefeated Machida instead destroyed Silva. Silva bounced back by knocking out the glass-jawed Keith Jardine in one round at UFC 102, before facing off against Rashad Evans at UFC 107 in the main event. Silva was out-wrestled for three rounds by Evans, although he nearly knocked him out in the third.
Both these fighters, who combine aggressive striking with good submission skills, are set to face off on 1 January, 2011.
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