Forrest Griffin returns to face Thiago Silva at UFC 101 in August
A light heavyweight contest between two fighters looking to rebound from high-profile losses has been added to the as-yet-unannounced UFC 101 card.
Former UFC champion Forrest Griffin (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
MMAjunkie.com (www,mmajunkie.com) today learned from sources close to the bout that the two fighters have verbally agreed to the contest and that bout agreements are scheduled to be signed over the next several days.
Those sources also indicated that UFC 101 is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8 in Portland, Ore.
Griffin is looking to bounce back from his TKO loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 in December 2008. The 29-year-old had wrestled away the title from Quinton Jackson with a July 2008 unanimous-decision win, but Griffin came up short in his first defense of the title with Evans.
A broken left hand suffered in that bout has kept Griffin out of action since December. The former "TUF" winner was medically suspended until June 27 due to the injury.
Silva is looking to rebound from the first loss of his three-and-a-half year career. The 26-year-old Brazilian slugger had reeled off 13 straight wins to open his career, which included four straight wins in the UFC, before Silva suffered a knockout loss to current No. 1 contender Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 in January.
Silva's night ended in poor fashion that night as the American Top Team product was caught with a heavy right hand from Machida a fraction of a second before the bell sounded to end the first round. While the round was over, Silva was unable to rise, and the bout was halted.
UFC 101 is scheduled to feature a matchup of heavyweight legends and former UFC champions Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
A light heavyweight contest between two fighters looking to rebound from high-profile losses has been added to the as-yet-unannounced UFC 101 card.
Former UFC champion Forrest Griffin (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
MMAjunkie.com (www,mmajunkie.com) today learned from sources close to the bout that the two fighters have verbally agreed to the contest and that bout agreements are scheduled to be signed over the next several days.
Those sources also indicated that UFC 101 is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 8 in Portland, Ore.
Griffin is looking to bounce back from his TKO loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 in December 2008. The 29-year-old had wrestled away the title from Quinton Jackson with a July 2008 unanimous-decision win, but Griffin came up short in his first defense of the title with Evans.
A broken left hand suffered in that bout has kept Griffin out of action since December. The former "TUF" winner was medically suspended until June 27 due to the injury.
Silva is looking to rebound from the first loss of his three-and-a-half year career. The 26-year-old Brazilian slugger had reeled off 13 straight wins to open his career, which included four straight wins in the UFC, before Silva suffered a knockout loss to current No. 1 contender Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 in January.
Silva's night ended in poor fashion that night as the American Top Team product was caught with a heavy right hand from Machida a fraction of a second before the bell sounded to end the first round. While the round was over, Silva was unable to rise, and the bout was halted.
UFC 101 is scheduled to feature a matchup of heavyweight legends and former UFC champions Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
