Undefeated light heavyweight contender Thiago Silva will fight Octagon newcomer Antonio Mendes at UFC 84: "Ill Will" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, according to Sherdog.com.
Silva was originally booked to face Rashad Evans; however, an injury to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua promoted "Sugar" to the main event against Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 on June 7.
Mendes is on an 11-fight win streak, competing primarily in his native Brazil and throughout Europe. His last fight was against Kiril Sidelnikov under the M-1 banner (prior to it becoming M-1 Global), which "Samuray" was reportedly losing until the bout was halted in his favor because of a cut.
This match up against Silva will be the biggest fight of his career without question.
That's because Silva is eying a run at the 205-pound title. And if he could have toppled Evans, in addition to his previous wins against Houston Alexander, Tomasz Drwal and James Irvin, it would have put Silva in a very nice spot.
Either way, with the division in its current state, Silva was at least two wins away from serious consideration with or without a win over Evans.
This not the greatest fight on paper, but with all the light heavyweights more or less booked to fight in the near future, there weren't many options available.
Perhaps the relatively unknown Mendes can even pull off an upset or at the very least have a strong showing.
For the most recent rumored UFC 84 fight card click here.
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