Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelergar
Isn't Vitor fighting Silva at 185. He's no slouch.
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Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort not happening at UFC 108
While the recovery from a recent elbow surgery is going just fine for UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, Jan. 2 will simply be too soon for him to return to action.
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) today spoke with Silva's manager, Ed Soares, who issued the update on "The Spider."
"The latest is he's not fighting Jan. 2," Soares said. "That's not going to happen. He won't be ready."
Silva recently had bone spurs removed from his right elbow, and the rehabilitation necessary following the procedure means Silva won't be ready to defend his title in a proposed UFC 108 matchup with Vitor Belfort.
As for when Silva will be ready to fight again, Soares said nothing is yet certain.
"We have to wait and see," Soares said. "Anderson went back to Brazil, and he's continuing his physical therapy there. But there's no set date yet."
But Soares insisted the progress was ahead-of-schedule, and Silva fans have no cause for concern.
"Anderson's recovery is going really, really well," Soares said. "He's coming back, and his recovery is doing really good. His physical therapy is going really well. He's getting better range of motion. He'll be back 100 percent for sure."
While he's not sure exactly when Silva will again step into the octagon, Soares assumes Belfort will still be the opponent on the opposite side of cage.
"I think it's going to be Vitor when Anderson comes back," Soares said. "That's what I'm assuming."
And though Soares has openly questioned the UFC's decision to grant Belfort a middleweight title shot despite the fact that he has yet to fight in the organization at 185 pounds, Silva's manager said he and his fighter are now looking forward to the test.
"At the end of the day, it's going to be a great fight," Soares said. "Like I said before, I don't think [Belfort"> deserves a title shot, but that's over with now. It is what it is.
"Whoever the UFC puts in front of us, we'll fight. We've never picked our opponents."
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Urijah Faber returns; fights Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46
Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber is in talks to make his long-awaited return against rising contender Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46 in January. News of the bout was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.
Faber (22-3) has spent the past couple of months letting his fractured right hand heal. He suffered the injury in the first round of his main event bout against WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown in June at WEC 41. Faber ended up suffering a unanimous decision loss to Brown. However, he showed lots of heart and determination by fighting the full five rounds through his injuries.
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Thiago Alves forced to withdraw from UFC 107 bout with Jon Fitch
After UFC welterweight Jon Fitch's original opponent, Ricardo Almeida, was forced to withdraw from a UFC 106 contest due to injury, the American Kickboxing Academy product agreed to instead meet Thiago Alves at UFC 107.
But Fitch again finds himself without an opponent, as AOL FanHouse is reporting that Alves has now been forced to withdraw as well.
AOL FanHouse's report cites a torn posterior cruciate ligament as the culprit, though MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) has thus far been unable to verify the assessment.
Alves had been scheduled to face Paulo Thiago on the "UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez" card but was pulled from that bout in favor of the highly anticipated rematch with Fitch.
It's currently unknown who, if anyone, the UFC will look to match Fitch up with now. Thiago is also currently awaiting a new opponent. While a simple solution would be to pair the two welterweights together, Fitch defeated Thiago soundly in July, making a rematch this soon seem highly unlikely.