Day by day, the UFC’s debut in Liverpool continues to grow.
UFC Fight Night 130 has gained yet another welterweight bout, as Claudio Henrique da Silva and Nordine Taleb. The promotion confirmed the bout on Thursday night.
The event is scheduled for May 27 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, headlined by a welterweight main event between undefeated Scouser Darren Till and two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson.
Da Silva, 35, has fought just twice under UFC employ over the last four years, due to a siege of injuries. In his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 37, “Hannibal” took a unanimous verdict over Bradley Scott, then returned eight months later to take a nip-tuck split decision over now-top contender Leon Edwards. Since the Edwards victory, da Silva has had previous bouts with Taleb as well as Siyar Bahadurzada canceled due to injury.
The 36-year-old Taleb, on the other hand, has won three of his last four. Outside of his February 2017 unanimous decision loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio, the Tristar MMA rep has racked up wins over Erick Silva, Oliver Enkamp and most recently, icing Brit Danny Roberts with a head kick in a mere 59 seconds at UFC on Fox 26 last December.