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