Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has booked a featherweight contest pitting Dennis Siver opposite Robert Whiteford for its upcoming UFC Fight Night 53 mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Fight Pass, which takes place on Oct. 4, 2014 at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.
UFC announced the contest earlier today.
Siver (21-9, 1 NC) is now eligible to compete after riding the pine for the first half of the year. The German kickboxer tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) following his unanimous decision win over Manny Gamburyan at the UFC 168 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place back on Dec. 28, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As a result, Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) fined him $19,800 and suspended him for nine months and his win over Manny Gamburyan was changed to a "no contest." Prior to that misstep, Silver was stopped by Cub Swanson at UFC 162.
A loss here likely earns him his walking papers.
Whiteford (11-2) was last seen scoring a unanimous decision win over Daniel Pineda at UFC 171 back in March. Outpointing "The Pit" evened "The Hammer" at 1-1 inside the Octagon, following a debut loss (technical submission) to Jim Hettes.
Who ya' got?
In addition to Siver vs. Whiteford, UFC Fight Night 53 will also feature a welterweight bout between Nico Musoke and the returning Amir Sadollah, while Niklas Backstrom and Mike Wilkinson hook 'em up in featherweight action.