Anderson Silva has pulled out of his scheduled bout at UFC 198 against Uriah Hall.
Silva was forced to withdraw after developing severe stomach pain, which may result in him getting surgery on his gall bladder.
Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Jeff Davidson, the UFC’s medical consultant stated that “Anderson developed abdominal discomfort [Monday and] further evaluation today is consistent with acute cholecystitis,” Davidson said Tuesday. “He will be seen by a surgeon today for possible surgery.”
While the surgery is relatively minor, and has a quick recovery time, it was unavoidable for Silva’s withdrawal.
Also speaking to Yahoo Sports, UFC President Dana White confirmed that Silva was out of the bout, and that he was currently attempting to find a replacement to face Uriah Hall.
Disappointingly, earlier on Tuesday, Silva had spoken to Fox News about his career and how he estimated he had plenty left in the tank.
“I love training. I love martial arts. I love my job. That’s it,” Silva said.
“Of course, I’m very happy UFC gave me one more chance for a fight again. I think this is very important for me to take back some time for my fights. I’m very happy, I’m very excited,” Silva said.
“I’m very happy. I’m very excited. It’s my dream to fight in Brazil in my country, in my city. My career started here. I’m very happy and this is very important for my legacy and my story fighting in the UFC now.”
Obviously, since those words, things changed.
Arguably the greatest of all time, Silva owns several records, including longest UFC title reign, most consecutive title defences (with ten) and most finishes in UFC title fights (with nine).
Despite all this, Silva has seen his career begin a downward trajectory of late. Losing his belt to Chris Weidman in July of 2013, Silva suffered a freak leg break in the rematch, before having a return victory over Nick Diaz overturned due to a drug test failure.
Then, in February of this year, Silva faced Michael Bisping in London, and lost a unanimous decision.
At 41, Silva is not long for this career, despite his arguments to the contrary. Each appearance marks a possible last, and on Saturday he was supposed to fight in his hometown of Curitiba against a fighter with eery similarities to his own style. Had a spectacular victory occurred, it could have been a fabulous end of a Hall of Fame career.
Technically, Silva has thirteen bouts left on his UFC contract after signing a mega deal prior to his Diaz fight in January of last year, yet realistically the odds of him fulfilling those appearances are unlikely. At forty-one, the Brazilian is one of the oldest members of the UFC roster, and has fought just three times in as many years.
For Hall, it must be an incredible disappointment. Hall has long been an admirer of Silva, and the bout would have easily been his most prolific bout in his MMA career.
As of yet, there are no rumoured names as a replacement for Hall, but stay tuned to GetMoreSports for any updates.
