(Which one of these two guys will end up in this position at UFC 125 and on the chopping block afterwards?)

According to MMAJunkie, a light heavyweight match-up between Brazilian knockout artist, Thiago Silva and muay thai specialist, Brandon Vera is being eyed for UFC 125 scheduled for January 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Though it likely won’t have title implications for either fighter, the bout is an important one as both men are precariously close to being on the UFC’s chopping block.


0-2 in his last two outings, Vera received a beating at the hands, or more specifically, elbows of 205-pound phenom Jon Jones at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones event in March, and has since undergone two separate surgeries to repair facial fractures inflicted by "Bones" during the fight, which ended via first round TKO.

Although his unanimous decision loss to Randy Couture at UFC 105 last November was hotly contested and heavily debated, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason in the UFC’s thought process when deciding who to release. 

Silva, who has been on ice with an injured back for the past several months, has not had a stellar run lately, either.

After rebounding from his first loss of his career — a devastating knockout by Lyoto Machida, who went on to with the UFC light heavyweight strap from Rashad Evans in his subsequent bout — Silva followed up a knockout win over Keith Jardine with a decision loss to Evans. 1-2 in his last three bouts, a loss to Vera, who has not resembled the dominant fighter who reeled off four straight wins in his first four Octagon appearances won’t do much to plead his case that the UFC should keep him around, especially with his $55,000 asking price.

A middleweight title rematch between champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen and a lightweight championship bout between 155-pound kingpin Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard are also rumored to be on the New Year’s day card.