Thiago Silva and Tim Boetsch have verbally agreed to meet each other at UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, California.
Silva has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to former UFC Light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at UFC 108 in January. The 27-year-old Brazilian has lost two of his last three fights. He lost to current champion Lyoto Machida in Jan. 2009, but rebounded with a win over Keith Jardine at UFC 102 last August.
Silva has never lost back-to-back fights in his career, and a win over Boetsch would keep the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt among the top contenders in the division. He has a career record of 14-2, including 5-2 since joining the UFC in 2007.
Boetsch was cut from the UFC in March 2009, after a decision loss to Jason Britz at UFC 96. He had a record of 2-2 in his first stint with the company. His victories came against David Heath and Michael Patt, while he lost to Britz and Matt Hamill.
Boetsch is coming into the fight against Silva with three straight wins, including a 65 second knockout win over Reese Shaner at a North American Fighting Championship show in April. Of his 11 career victories, he has finished seven of them in the first round.
UFC 117 is expected to be main evented by UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending his belt against the current top contender, Chael Sonnen.
