It’s a Lock! Anderson Silva vs. Uriah Hall Confirmed for UF 198

It’s been nearly seven years since Anderson Silva fought on a UFC card when he wasn’t in the headlining bout, but it’s about to happen again.

After rumors swirled around various opponents, the UFC settled on Uriah Hall as Silva’s next foe in the Octagon. The two will square off at UFC 198 on May 14 in Curitiba, Brazil, while Fabricio Werdum puts his heavyweight belt on the line against Stipe Miocic in the headliner. It’s another marquee addition to a card that the UFC hopes will fill the 40,000-seat Arena da Baixada.

Silva (33-7, 1 NC) last fought at February’s UFC London, where he lost a controversial decision to Michael Bisping in the main event. It was the latest in a string of bad luck that has befallen Silva over the past few years.

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He lost his grasp on the middleweight championship when Chris Weidman knocked him out in July of 2013. Silva then suffered a grotesquely broken leg in the rematch in December. He initially defeated Nick Diaz after returning more than a year later in January of 2015, but that was changed to a no contest when he twice tested positive for steroids.

Silva’s name had been linked to several other possible opponents for Curitiba, including Gegard Mousasi and Tim Kennedy, but the promotion eventually made the fight with Hall.

Hall (12-6) has found scattered success in the Octagon since emerging from Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, but is also coming off of a loss heading into the UFC 198 match-up. He dropped a unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker in Australia in November of last year.

Other notable Brazilians also booked for the card include Demian Maia, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, as the UFC tries to fill its first soccer stadium event in Brazil.

The UFC is also reportedly actively pursuing a potential fight for Invicta FC champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino on the card. Curitiba in Cyborg’s hometown.

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