Thanks to a shoulder injury, number one Middleweight Championship contender Vitor Belfort was forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 112 bout with Champ Anderson Silva.
Committed to making the Abu Dhabi show a success, UFC was nonetheless quick to announce a replacement fighter, and it is one that allows UFC to hype the fight as a classic grappler vs. striker matchup.
Stepping into the vacant spot will be Demian Maia, who most recently defeated Dan Miller at UFC 109. Maia, long viewed as a potential challenger for Silva, is hyped as the best grappler in mixed martial arts.
“Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia will be a matchup between MMA’s best striker and MMA’s best grappler,” said UFC President Dana White of the battle between the striking artist Silva and the Abu Dhabi grappling champion Maia.
While the news might come as unexpected to those who heard UFC label Chael Sonnen the division’s number one contender after his dominant win over Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, the company noted that the injuries Sonnen sustained in that fight rendered him unavailable for the April date with Silva.
And while Marquardt recently humbled Maia with a 21-second knockout win at UFC 102, the decisiveness of his loss to Chael Sonnen–and the fact that he, too, will be out through March with medical suspensions–likely prevented his earning of an immediate title shot.
UFC 112 takes place on April 10.
