If it’s a big name replacement they’re after, they don’t come much bigger than Anderson Silva.
With news of Jon Jones being flagged for a potential doping violation by USADA, the UFC is left scrambling for the latest of last minute replacements for its landmark UFC 200 show.
Daniel Cormier insisted he’s ready to compete against a stand-in and there have been plenty of potential ones thrown in the mix ever since Jones’ removal from the card.
Alexander Gustafsson, Michael Bisping and Ilir Latifi have all thrown their hats in the ring but, according to a report from Brazilian outlet Combate, former middleweight champion Silva has been selected as Jones’ replacement.
Silva has fought at light heavyweight on three occasions in the past, winning all three by first round knockout, so he’s no stranger to competing at 205 lbs.
Activity on the social media accounts of ‘The Spider’ would lead you to believe that Combate’s report is indeed true as Silva took to Instagram and Facebook with the below photograph accompanied by the caption “It’s time for spider!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHky0XLhdXD/?hl=en
But when journalists in Las Vegas reached out to Dana White for confirmation, they were met with a response denying Silva’s claims.
White via text: Globo is wrong.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016
Per @danawhite via text, reports of Silva vs. Cormier “not true."
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) July 7, 2016
Just talked to a solid source with Silva's team. Said a potential Cormier-Spider Silva fight is "far from a done deal."
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) July 7, 2016
Further clarification from UFC official: "There is no fight made. We are talking to several fighters."
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) July 7, 2016
The crazy aspect of all of this is that weigh-ins for UFC 200 take place in less than 24 hours and, if fighters have to travel from different countries, a decision would have to made much sooner rather than later.
