We’ve got a new fight, ladies and gentlemen.
Jones vs. Cormier II is no more and, in its place, we’ve got a bout that nobody was expecting as former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva agreed to step up on 48 hours’ notice to meet Cormier at UFC 200.
Jon Jones was removed from Saturday night’s card after being notified of a potential doping violation by USADA and the likelihood of getting a new fight of any intrigue looked bleak.
There you have it folks! @dc_mma vs @SpiderAnderson on #UFC200!
More to come on https://t.co/NDt313f4SE! pic.twitter.com/WZtjXYeyHP— UFC (@ufc) July 8, 2016
Fighters queued up to get the chance to take part on the promotion’s biggest ever show, projected to break the pay-per-view buy record set by UFC 100 in 2009.
And Silva’s bravery has been rewarded with a slot on the historic UFC 200 card, as confirmed by company officials prior to the main event of UFC Fight Night 90.
Rumours about Silva replacing Jones circulated early on Thursday evening but UFC president Dana White refuted them as the deal had not yet been done.
Cormier vs Silva!!! #UFC200 pic.twitter.com/c2QYsgEb68
— danawhite (@danawhite) July 8, 2016
The addition of 185 lbs legend Silva to the card has required a reshuffle of the running order, with the women’s bantamweight title fight between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes acting as the new main event of Saturday night’s card.
Cormier and Silva, which is a non-title fight, will meet prior to Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt’s heavyweight clash which is the co-main event on the night.
Silva has fought at light heavyweight on three occasions, winning all three by first round knockout and he gets the chance to extend that to four against Cormier who only has one defeat on his professional record.
‘The Spider’ hasn’t fought since dropping a decision to Michael Bisping in February but has come to the company’s rescue as they scrambled for a replacement on such short notice.
