Jon Fitch has agreed to take on Erick Silva at UFC 153
UFC 153 just seems to get better and better. Following a summer riddled with injury devastated fights, the UFC seems to be loading up on their fall return to Brazil. Headlined by the Featherweight championship bout between Jose Aldo and Erik Koch, the supporting cast includes big names like Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva, and Vitor Belfort. This will be the UFC's third return to Brazil and the second to the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro.
Tonight, Ariel Helwani confirmed a new match via Twitter:
Just about to board my flight to LA but I can confirm that
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 31, 2012@jonfitchdotnet and@ericksilvamma have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 153.
The UFC isn't giving Jon Fitch any breaks with this match up. In his last match, Fitch was knocked out by the first punch Johny Hendricks threw at UFC 141. It was his first KO loss in over 9 years and his only UFC loss to someone not named Georges St. Pierre. Fitch has a lot of pressure on him in this fight as he hasn't picked up a win in the Octagon since decisioning Thiago Alves at UFC 117. Formerly recognized as the undisputed number 2 in the Welterweight division, Fitch's stock has fallen due to inactivity, the KO loss to Hendricks, and a draw against B.J. Penn.
This is also a huge fight for Erick Silva. Silva has been making big waves since his UFC debut where he knocked out Luis Ramos in just 40 seconds at UFC 134. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke he finished Carlo Prater in only 29 seconds, though he was disqualified by referee Mario Yamasaki for illegal strikes in a very questionably call. Again, Silva impressed in his first match against a grinding wrestler in Charlie Brenneman with another first round finish.
Despite his recent KO loss, Jon Fitch has been known to survive big punches and a lot of punishment. If he can drag Silva past the first round, he'll pose big problems to the exciting prospect. If Erick Silva can get the win, it'll be his biggest career victory thus far, and set him up for a future title shot.
Jon Fitch (23-4-1)
L Johny Hendricks (KO) UFC 141
D B.J. Penn (Majority Draw) UFC 127
W Thiago Alves (Decision) UFC 117
Erick "Indio" Silva (14-2)
W Charlie Brenneman (Submission) UFC On FX 3
L Carlo Prater (DQ) UFC 142
W Luis Ramos (TKO) UFC 134
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