A scheduled rematch between Thiago Silva (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Brandon Vera (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) will have to wait.
UFC officials today announced that Vera has suffered an undisclosed injury, and a replacement is being sought for his light-heavyweight bout with Silva at May's UFC on FX 3 event.
The show is scheduled for May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The night's main card airs on FX.
Silva fought Vera and earned a unanimous-decision win at UFC 125 in early 2011. However, UFC officials scratched Silva from a planned UFC 130 bout with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson when UFC 125's drug-testing results were released.
A year ago, Nevada State Athletic Commission served Silva a formal complaint after two separate urinalysis samples revealed a substance that was "inconsistent with human urine," which indicated that he "submitted an adulterated and/or substituted specimen for testing for the urinalysis." Silva then admitted to taking a prescription steroid, delivered by a doctor via epidural, on two separate occasions prior to UFC 125.
Vera was released from the UFC following the loss to Silva but was brought back when the ruling was made. He since has registered a win in the octagon, a UFC 137 decision victory over Eliot Marshall, but hsd done little to hide his contempt for the man he openly refers to as a "juice monkey."
Source: Brandon Vera injured, out of UFC on FX 3 rematch with Thiago Silva