Erick Silva to Face Nordine Taleb in Welterweight Clash at UFC 197

Erick Silva will lock horns with Nordine Taleb in a welterweight bout at UFC 197, promotion officials announced on Wednesday.

UFC 197 takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 5 and airs via pay-per-view. The card features two title bouts: Rafael dos Anjos will defend his lightweight strap against Conor McGregor, while Holly Holm will put bantamweight gold on the line against Miesha Tate.

Silva went 1-1 in 2015, choking out Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night “Maia vs. LaFlare” in March before suffering a split-decision set back to Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night “Holloway vs. Oliveira” in August. The 31-year-old Brazilian is 6-5 in the Octagon overall, with all of his triumphs coming inside of a round.

Taleb, 34, suffered his first defeat in four promotional appearances at UFC 190, when he fell victim to a second-round Warlley Alves guillotine choke. Prior to that, the Montreal native posted victories against Vik Grujic, Jingliang Li and Chris Clements to begin his UFC tenure.