UFC veteran Jay Silva replaces Paulo Filho against champion Hector Lombard at Bellator 18
by FiveKnuckles.com Staff on May 11, 2010

Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that Paulo Filho has withdrawn from this Thursday night's "Super Fight" against Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard at Bellator 18.

Lombard (24-2-1) will instead face off against former UFC veteran Jay Silva (5-3) who was previously scheduled to fight in another bout on the show. The fight takes place at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, La., and will air LIVE on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

"We worked very hard to get Paulo here for this fight but, despite all of our efforts, we were unable to make that happen," Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said today. "Instead, we now have an intriguing fight between Hector Lombard and Jay Silva, who has an exciting, aggressive style. Coming off of losses in the UFC, I know Jay is hungry for a big win and will be looking to make a name for himself against Hector, one of the best middleweights in the world."

Silva, an East Coast native, learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Renzo Gracie and currently trains at Gracie's gym alongside MMA notables Cheick Kongo and Quinton Jackson. Lombard, meanwhile, is undefeated in his last 18 fights including his three-fight rampage through Bellator's Season 1 Middleweight Tournament.

Other fights on this Thursday's Bellator 18 card include two Season 2 Featherweight Tournament semifinal fights: former World Champion Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion Joe Warren (3-1) versus former pro soccer player Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan (13-1-1) and a battle of two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, Patricio Pitbull (13-0) and Wilson Reis (10-1).

 |  (40) Comments D_V: Great replacement. This is too bad. Lombard is legit imo and could be a real title contender in any organization. I think he is really really good. Masternate: silva is gonna get demolished The Hitman: I had Filho, but not anymore. throwingshoes: paulo is a mess. knuck616: Paulo Filho shouldn't be aloud to fight in any MMA organization,he dosen't look like he even trains..Paulo Filho probably wouldn't make weight anyways,he's a chump and your stupid if you sign him.. Storm: 6 seconds? really? D_V: we are 2 or 3 minutes behind. the fight was just about to start after I saw his post. Lombard is the real deal. Strikeforce needs to get their heads out of their asses and bring him in. they need him now that Shields is gone, he's beat shields anyways. He beat any strikeforce MW, including Jacare. D_V: jacare would get killed, sorry. both of jacare's losses were form KOs. He has a sketchy jaw. Jacare can beat most MW's, he's that good. He's better than i give him credit for. insanely good athlete of the GSP ilk. Problem is, his first KO loss was a sketchy KO that should have never hurt him and he totally melted. the second loss was an upkick and those can certainly hurt you but they shouldn't knock you clean out. Jacare is awesome because he can impose his athleticism with his good wrestling and bb in judo. he can't do that to a little stocky judoka olympian though so they would have to stand and lombard hit's too hard for de souza, and would get the KO. GO HARD: itd be an interesting fight... i would go with lombard but if it hit the ground then jacare would finish. horizontalcracker: looks like a great way to get side control also, anyone else having 5k load really slow? other sites work fine for me D_V: vitor vs hector how fucking awesome would that be? Jacare vs GSP Awesomeness Give GSP somebody that he fucking doesn't want to just take down. He'd kill Maia, unfortunately, but Jacare is enough of an athlete that it's more competitive. D_V: well, i missed the old milestone thread for 7000, although at my rate, before the end of the month I'll get to 8000 anyways. horizontalcracker: silva v chuck on, good stuff horizontalcracker: Yea, I get why he won't one of my keyz iz broken, wtf guezz which one i will have to be metalz from now on zince i can't uze the ezz
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!