Roy Nelson and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva both are in dire need of a win, and at UFC Fight Night 95, one of them will look to score that badly needed victory at the expense of the other.
On Thursday, the UFC officially added a heavyweight clash between Nelson (21-13) and Silva (19-19-1) to the card for UFC Fight Night 95, taking place Sept. 24 at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia and airing on FS1.
Nelson has long enjoyed a cult following since first entering the UFC by winning a heavyweights season of The Ultimate Fighter, but "Big Country" has lost four of his last five fights inside the Octagon and has an overall sub-.500 record (8-9) in the UFC. This marks the first time that Nelson will be fighting in Brazil. Known as a striker, Nelson showed more of a ground game in his most recent fight against Derrick Lewis last month at UFC Fight Night 90. Lewis won that bout by split decision.
Silva also has struggled as of late, going 1-5-1 in his past seven fights. All five of those losses have come by knockout or TKO, all in the opening round. His most recent bout, against Stefan Struve, saw him lose by knockout in a mere 16 seconds. Silva went on a tirade via social media after that outcome, speaking out against his critics.
Both fighters definitely face additional pressure to win based on recent results and the loser could see his UFC tenure coming to an end depending on how this fight goes.
UFC Fight Night 95 is headlined by Cris "Cyborg" Justino taking on Lina Lansberg, who is making her UFC debut.
