Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been forced to pull out of his UFC 198 bout with Uriah Hall.
UFC officials confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Silva developed pain in his abdomen that may necessitate gall bladder surgery. News of Silva’s withdrawal was first reported by Yahoo! Sports, who cited UFC president Dana White.
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Jeff Davidson, the UFC’s medical consultant, told Yahoo Sports that Silva would be examined in Brazil for potential gall bladder surgery.
“Anderson developed abdominal discomfort [Monday and] further evaluation today is consistent with acute cholecystitis,” Davidson said Tuesday. “He will be seen by a surgeon today for possible surgery.”
Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gall bladder, according to the Mayo Clinic. It often necessitates gall bladder removal.
Once the king of the UFC middleweight division and widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, Silva has suffered through the lowest point in his career over the past few years. He lost the UFC middleweight championship to Chris Weidman in July of 2013, lost the rematch when he suffered a grotesquely broken leg, had a return victory over Nick Diaz changed to a no contest after testing positive for steroids, and then lost a controversial decision to Michael Bisping upon his comeback following a yearlong suspension.
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With Silva out of the fight, UFC officials told MMAWeekly.com that a search was currently underway to try and find Hall a new opponent for UFC 198, which takes place this Saturday in Curitiba, Brazil.
