In an interview with MMA OddsBreaker’s James Lynch, UFC welterweight Bojan Velickovic revealed that his training partner, former RFA welterweight champion Brandon “Ruckus” Thatch has been booked to take on Brazil’s Erick Silva. There’s no official date and location for the fight booking, and the bout hasn’t been officially announced, but Velickovic did say that it is in September, so one would guess that may be September 24th’s UFC Fight Night 95 in Silva’s backyard of Brasilia, Brazil. Both 170-pounders have their backs against the wall heading into this contest, as Thatch is coming off three straight losses, being finished by rear naked choke submission in all three of them, and Silva is coming off a pair of defeats himself, most recently a vicious knockout at the hands of Nordine Taleb. This is a bit of a surprise match-up, as many figured there was a decent chance both welterweights would be receiving their walking papers from the promotion following their most recent outings inside the Octagon. The UFC has however decided that one of them should stick around, and in a promotion where some fighters get cut after only one loss, these welterweights are very lucky. Both Thatch and Silva have appeared to be on a decline in recent bouts, so it will be interesting to see how they will look against each other when they square off this September. One fighter’s UFC story will continue, while the one who tastes defeat will likely be inching closer to a Bellator contract, when it would likely serve him better to just hang up the gloves for good. Silva trains out of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, CA under the tutelage of Master Rafael Cordeiro. Thatch and Velickovic fight out of Evolution Fight Team in Denver, CO. Velickovic faced former American Top Team training partner Michael Graves in the featured bout for the UFC Fight Pass prelims for UFC 201 last evening with his bout resulting in a majority draw.
Loser Goes Home: Brandon Thatch vs Erick Silva rumored for September
