Will
08-23-2007, 05:33 AM
Cincinnati’s UFC 77 event needed a punch of star power, and today, the Oct. 20 event got it.
The UFC today announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (23-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will begin his quest to reclaim the title against one-time top contender Brandon Vera (8-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
The clash of heavyweights complements a scheduled main event of current middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. former champ (and Cincinnati native) Rich Franklin.
The Sylvia-Vera fight rumors went into overdrive last week when the UFC announced that Vera had resolved his management issues and would return to the Octagon as early as October. Even UFC president Dana White stated in last week’s UFC 74 conference call that a Sylvia-Vera bout was a possibility.
Sylvia, who is currently recovering from staph infection that hit Pat Miletich’s training camp in Iowa, lost his belt to Randy Couture at UFC 68. Vera actually was slated to get the title shot, but when he ran into problems with former manager Mark Dion, Couture instead came out of retirement to defeat Sylvia via unanimous decision.
After the fight, Sylvia, who began his professional MMA career with 16 consecutive wins, had back surgery that’s kept him sidelined from action.
Vera, who recently signed a six-fight contract renewal, made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 2 with a win over Fabiano Scherner. He’s also scored UFC victories over Justin Eilers (UFC 57), Assuerio Silva (UFC 60) and Frank Mir (UFC 65).
“UFC 77: Hostile Territory” takes place at U.S. Bank Arena, which sits adjacent to Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Jason McDonald vs. Yushin Okami, and Stephan Bonnar vs. Eric Schafer have also been confirmed by the fighters.
The UFC today announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (23-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will begin his quest to reclaim the title against one-time top contender Brandon Vera (8-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
The clash of heavyweights complements a scheduled main event of current middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. former champ (and Cincinnati native) Rich Franklin.
The Sylvia-Vera fight rumors went into overdrive last week when the UFC announced that Vera had resolved his management issues and would return to the Octagon as early as October. Even UFC president Dana White stated in last week’s UFC 74 conference call that a Sylvia-Vera bout was a possibility.
Sylvia, who is currently recovering from staph infection that hit Pat Miletich’s training camp in Iowa, lost his belt to Randy Couture at UFC 68. Vera actually was slated to get the title shot, but when he ran into problems with former manager Mark Dion, Couture instead came out of retirement to defeat Sylvia via unanimous decision.
After the fight, Sylvia, who began his professional MMA career with 16 consecutive wins, had back surgery that’s kept him sidelined from action.
Vera, who recently signed a six-fight contract renewal, made his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 2 with a win over Fabiano Scherner. He’s also scored UFC victories over Justin Eilers (UFC 57), Assuerio Silva (UFC 60) and Frank Mir (UFC 65).
“UFC 77: Hostile Territory” takes place at U.S. Bank Arena, which sits adjacent to Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Jason McDonald vs. Yushin Okami, and Stephan Bonnar vs. Eric Schafer have also been confirmed by the fighters.