With only four days remaining until showtime, former middleweight king Anderson Silva (pictured) has been pulled from UFC 198 with abdominal pains that may require gall bladder surgery.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the news, which the UFC subsequently confirmed.
Silva was slated to face Uriah Hall in Saturday’s show. According to the report, the UFC is currently scouring its roster to find a last-minute replacement to fight Hall.
Silva is being examined by a physician in Brazil to determine if surgery will be required.
Silva, 41, was looking to post his first win since beating Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153 nearly four years ago. He has gone 0-3 (1 NC) over his past four outings.
“The Spider” returned from a yearlong drug suspension in February’s unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping.
Arena Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba, Brasil hosts the festivities. A heavyweight title tilt between champion Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic headlines the pay-per-view broadcast.
Here is the show’s revised lineup:
Preliminary Card:
(UFC Fight Pass 6:15PM ET/3:15PM PT)
Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Renato Moicano
Sergio Moraes vs. Luan Chagas
Yancy Medeiros vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Patrick Cummins vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Fox Sports 1 (8PM ET/5PM PT)
John Lineker vs. Rob Font
Nate Marquardt vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Matt Brown vs. Demian Maia
Main Card:
(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)
Uriah Hall vs. TBD
Cris “Cyborg” Justino vs. Leslie Smith
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Corey Anderson
Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Stipe Miocic vs. Fabricio Werdum (UFC heavyweight champion)