Thiago Silva’s recent stretch of troubles seemed to reach an end after he won a fight in June, his first victory in nearly four years, but the UFC light-heavyweight finds himself in another self-made difficulty after missing weight for his UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields matchup with Matt Hamill.
Stepping on to the scale in Barueri, Brazil, Silva initially weighed in at 208 pounds, two pounds over the divisional limit. Despite having one hour to try to shed the excess weight, he couldn’t drop to the contracted number. As a result, he has forfeited 25 percent of his purse, which will be awarded to Hamill for accepting the bout.
A talented but mercurial striker, the 30-year-old Silva has only won once since the start of 2010, with two losses, two failed drug tests — including one that involved a fake urine sample — and now, missing weight on the scale.
His most recent fight took place in June when he flatlined Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in a first-round, Knockout of the Night performance.
Silva (15-3, 2 no contests) is considered a 3-to-1 favorite over Hamill, who is only fighting for the second time since returning from a short retirement. In his first match, he looked sluggish but outlasted Roger Hollett to take a decision victory.
