Huge news broke earlier today that UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, has finally been paired up to defend his belt against Chris Weidman on July 6^th at UFC 162. That fight, however, is not the only news that has been swirling around the newly named card. It has also been rumored that former Strikeforce LHW Champion, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-3, 1 NC), will be squaring off with fellow Brazilian and heavy-handed head-hunter, Thiago Silva (14-3, 2NC).

The UFC has not yet made this fight official but the efforts to get it going have already begun. MMA Fighting first reported on the news:

The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion is expected to meet Thiago Silva at UFC 162 on July 6 in Las Vegas, according to sources close to the fight. The UFC has yet to make the fight official.

Both men are dangerous strikers with one punch power and are considered top tier fighters in MMA’s light heavyweight division. However, both fighters are coming off of fights that were ultimately ruled “no-contests” after their drug test results came back dirty.

Silva, who last fought and defeated Stanislav Nedkov via submission in November, had that fight turned to a no-contest due to marijuana metabolites showing up in his drug test. Silva also had his fight before that ruled a no-contest when he defeated Brandon Vera but submitted a falsified urine sample for testing.

Although Silva has had his drug-testing problems in the past that doesn’t take away from the fact that he is a dangerous opponent for any fighter in the UFC and is looking to right his ship and get back into title contention with a win over “Feijoa”. Silva holds notable wins over fighters such as James Irvin, Houston Alexander, and Keith Jardine.

Rafael Cavalcante, who is coming off of a vicious KO of Mike Kyle that was turned to a NC due to stanozolol showing up in his drug test, will be entering the UFC octagon for the first time in his MMA career and he couldn’t have asked for a tougher opponent than Silva. “Feijoa” has been widely considered one of the best LHWs in the MMA game that didn’t compete in the UFC. However, with Strikeforce recently being engulfed by Zuffa, Cavalcante now has the chance to prove that he is indeed one of the best fighters in the world.

He currently trains out of the Black House training camp with the likes of Anderson Silva, the Nogueira brothers, and Lyoto Machida. His explosive style of Muay Thai has resulted in 10 of his 11 wins coming by way of KO and he is looking to make a statement with a victory over Thiago Silva in his UFC debut.

UFC 162 is expected to take place on July 6^th and will be headlined by the Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman title fight.

For more news regarding UFC 162 click here

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