A middleweight match-up between former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Derek Brunson has been added to UFC 208, which takes place in Brooklyn.
UFC President Dana White announced the fight over Twitter.
Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs Derek Brunson #UFC208 in Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/wvCVA9utTi
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 13, 2017
Silva (33-8 1NC) is currently in the midst of the worst run of his career. “The Spider” went around seven years without being beaten and looked untouchable but following his first loss to Chris Weidman, he’s never been the same. That loss, which was at UFC 162, was followed by another loss to Weidman in a rematch, where Silva suffered a broken leg. The 41-year-old returned to the octagon and originally defeated Nick Diaz, but following a failed drug test, the fight was overturned to a No Contest. In his last two fights, Silva has dropped decisions to both Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier.
Brunson (16-4) is looking to get back on track following his latest defeat. Prior to the loss, which was a first round TKO loss to Robert Whittaker in Melbourne, the 33-year-old was riding a five fight win streak. Following a decision victory over Lorenz Larkin at UFC 177, Brunson picked up four straight first round stoppages. The first came against Ed Herman, then Sam Alvey, which was followed up by a stoppage over Roan Carneiro before Brunson finally stopped Uriah Hall in the first round of their fight at UFC Hidalgo.
UFC 208 takes place live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on February 11th, 2017. The card is expected to be headlined by a women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie.
