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Finally, the UFC is set to return to hosting an event, as UFC on FUEL TV 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva takes place Saturday afternoon (U.S. time) from Sweden.

On Thursday, the pre-fight press conference was held, with main card fighters Alexander Gustafsson, Thiago Silva, Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara among those in attendance.

Gustafsson, who is from Sweden, will face Silva in the main event, while Stann and Sakara collide in the co-main event.

Sakara was the star of the presser, dropping one-liners throughout. When asked about Stann, Sakara replied, “He loves to fight whne a fighter is a striker, be bo bum.”

Gustafsson gave a very vanilla response when asked about possibly facing UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, claiming he is only focusing on Silva. That’s a good start for the rising prospect, as Silva is returning from a year-long suspension and will be looking to make an immediate impact.

“The Pitbull,” meanwhile, wore his usual sunglasses and responded to a question about his weight by insisting he is only three pounds over right now.

MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant chats with Thiago Silva, who makes his long awaited return to the cage to take on Alexander Gustfafsson in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC On FUEL TV 2 event.

For more clips from Karyn’s trip to Sweden, the UFC on FUEL TV 2 open workouts, and much more, check out MMA H.E.A.T.

Alexander Gustafsson is working his way up the UFC’s light heavyweight ladder, positioning himself as a future contender by amassing a 13-1 record.

During his UFC career, Gustafsson has defeated the likes of Matt Hamill, Vladimir Matyushenko and Jared Hamman, falling only to Phil Davis back in 2010.

This weekend, Gustafsson will face Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 2 from his native country of Sweden. The card takes place inside the Ericcson Globe Arena in Stockholm. Gustafsson was a recent guest on “UFC Tonight,” where he shared his thoughts on the fight, his opponent and what’s different about his style since the loss to Davis.

“I’m super excited,” said Gustaffson, in regards to fighting in Sweden. “I’m super motivated. There’s no pressure at all. It’s a dream come true. I’m just doing what I love to do.”

Silva was a replacement for Gustafsson, as he was originally set to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueria before an injury sidelined him. In Silva, he’ll be facing a fighter returning from a year-long suspension due to a failed drug test.

“I’m prepared for the best Thiago – I hope it’s the best Thiago to fight on Saturday,” Gustafsson said. “He’s a really good grappler and he’s strong from the top. I have my game plan and tactics, and I’m going to do my thing.”

“The Mauler” says he is now a full-time fighter since the submission loss to Davis, adding, “I’m a whole new fighter. I’ve been learning a lot from my loss. Everything I do is MMA now. I live it, eat it and sleep it.”

This will be an interesting challenge for Gustafsson, as Silva has been on the sidelines for an extended period, but was once a victory away from competing for the UFC light heavyweight title.

The latest teaser trailer for this Saturday’s UFC On FUEL TV 2 event featuring Alexander Gustafsson taking on the returning Thiago Silva.

It’s been over a year since we’ve seen Thiago Silva compete inside the Octagon. Now, following a suspension for a failed drug test, Silva will return at UFC on FUEL TV 2 against Alexander Gustafsson on April 14 from Sweden.

For Silva, the time away from action only helped fuel his fire. Along with the suspension, Silva also missed several months with a back injury.

“My prediction is that I will fight hard like a true warrior,” said Silva, in a recent interview with Low Kick’s Anton Gurevich. “Everybody knows my style; when I step in the Octagon, I go to kill or die, and I will do the same on April 14. I will be 10 times more aggressive because this fight is very important to me.”

Since winning his first 13 professional fights, Silva has gone just 1-2 with the one no-contest in his last four. The bout with Gustafsson will be a tough challenge for him, as Gustafsson will be competing in his native country of Sweden and has won his last four.

Photo credit: James Law/MMA Fighting

The UFC announced a major change to the UFC on FUEL 2 main event today.

According to UFC.com, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has suffered a knee injury and will not be able to fight Alexander Gustafsson on the card. Sweden doesn’t have to start singing the blues though, because they also announced that Thiago Silva is already set to replace him.

Following a knee injury suffered in training for his April 14th bout against Alexander Gustafsson, Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from the UFC on FUEL TV main event in Stockholm, Sweden. Stepping in for Lil’ Nog will be another hard-hitting Brazilian, Thiago Silva, who is returning to the Octagon for the first time since January of 2011.

Silva was previously set to face Igor Pokrajac at UFC on FUEL 3 in Fairfax, Virginia. It’s unclear who will fight Pokrajac now, but at least they managed to save the more pressing card.

Image via Sherdog

Thiago Silva has a new opponent.

According to MMA Weekly, Igor Pokrajac will step in for an injured Brandon Vera to take on Silva at UFC on FX 3.

With Brandon Vera sidelined due to injury, Thiago Silva will now face Croatian Igor Pokrajac at UFC on FX 3 in May.

Sources close to the fight confirmed the new bout to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday with bout agreements issued for the May 15 light heavyweight tilt.

Funny enough, it turns out Vera was injured all along, even when he accepted the fight. In a recent Facebook post, Vera explained that he was so excited about being offered the rematch, he accepted it without knowing if he would be fully recovered in time from an undisclosed injury. Transcription via 5thRound.com:

“I’ve been bugging my manager, I’ve been bugging [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva and the UFC, so as soon as Thiago Silva’s suspension was over and he was available, I would like to be the first one to fight him and get back in there with him. Kind of a welcome back thing. Finally the fight came, Joe said the fight can happen May 15th. My manager told me the fight is happening May 15th.

“Without thinking, without talking to my coaches, without talking to my doctors, I verbally said ‘Yes, I’m down for the fight, let’s do this, let’s get it done. I’m in.’ The next morning I went to my doctors after training and … they said there’s no way I’ll be ready by then, and I need to focus on getting better. So I sat down and was thinking, ‘Yeah, maybe those guys are right.’ So I didn’t check with my doctors, I didn’t check with my coaches.

“I still wanna fight you bad Thiago, Thiago, however you say your name juice monkey. I still wanna fight you bad. So whenever you’re ready, whenever I’m healthy enough, I’m your huckleberry.”

That might be a first. Well, at least the first time I’ve heard anyone admit it.

Image via Daniel Herbertson for Sherdog

So much for the Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva rematch.

As you can see from the tweet above, Vera has been injured and will be unable to fight Silva at UFC on FX 3. Silva will staying on the card however to take on the always dangerous TBD.

Another rematch was also derailed due to injury recently. Robert Peralta was set to meet Mackens Semezier again at UFC on FX 2 after his TKO victory in their initial contest was overturned due to an accidental headbutt, however a few broken toes has nixed those plans.

The UFC made some pretty big fight booking announcements late tonight.

First up, the UFC confirmed that a previously announced match-up between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will actually headline UFC on FOX 3. Additionally, Strikeforce veteran Lavar Johnson, fresh of his recent knockout victory over Joey Beltran in the UFC on FOX 2 prelims, will take on an always exciting and entertaining Pat Barry.

What’s interesting here is the UFC seems to be going with match-ups that are virtually guaranteed to be full of heart-pumping action instead of just filling it with big names that don’t always deliver the most exciting fights like they did with UFC on FOX 2. To be honest, it sounds more like a fight night card than a major network television card, so I think the biggest thing people will question leading up to it are how it will do in the ratings. That said, there’s no way those fights disappoint, which has been the biggest criticism of the first two FOX cards. Regardless of whether it’s the right call or not though, it’s a HUGE opportunity for all four of those guys.

Switching gears to another card, Thiago Silva will make his long-awaited return to action at UFC on FX 3 on May 15 in Virginia following his one-year “fake urine” suspension. And the man he’ll fight… none other than Brandon Vera who he fought when he was caught submitting fake urine for his drug test. Vera has been very vocal about the incident and believed he deserved a fair rematch with the man he’s called a “juice monkey.” Well, he got it. Be careful what you wish for?

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Thiago Silva appeared in front the NSAC earlier today to face the music regarding his failed drug test at UFC 125. Silva stood before the commission and confessed to taking two injections of a prescription steroid 30 and 45 days out from the fight for his chronically injured back. Silva said he was fully aware that what he was doing was considered cheating, and purchased synthetic urine from ClearTest.com two weeks prior to the fight to cover it up. MMA Junkie’s John Morgan was present at the hearing.

“I just want to apologize for what I did,” Silva said following the conclusion of the prosecution’s cut-and-dry presentation. “I did what I did because my back was very, very bad a couple months (before the fight). I had not fought for one year. I was completely broke. I have a family. People depend on my money. I was desperate to do something.

“I know what I did is wrong. Like I said, I’m so sorry. I had my reasons. People depend on my money, and I had to give them support.”

After listening to Silva’s testimony, commission members deliberated and came back with the standard 12-month suspension and a substantial yet questionable fine. Silva was ordered to pay 25% of his 55,000 purse and $20,000 of his $55,000 win bonus, which comes out to a whopping $33,750. However, the result of the Vera bout was also changed to a “no contest” which raises the question: If Silva is no longer the official victor, why he isn’t being forced to give back all of his $55,000 win bonus?

Nevertheless, the fine is steep in comparison the $2,500 fines fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Sean Sherk received from the CSAC for their positive drug tests. Additionally, their suspensions were cut in half because they vehemently denied any wrong doing. In another NSAC case however, Karo Parisyan was forced to serve a 9-month suspension and pay a $32,000 fine for taking prescription painkillers on the banned substance list. $2,500 vs. $30,000+? 6 months vs. 9/12 months? No wonder fighters deny, deny, deny. Not only that, if you’re going to cheat, clearly you’re better off doing it in California than Nevada.

When describing how he fooled inspectors during the drug test, Silva said he hid the sample in a vial in his shorts and poured it into the cup as the inspector stood behind him. Interestingly, when asked if he thought this was a common occurrence, Silva answered, “Yes, I believe.” Commission members later admitted mistakes were made by their inspectors and they need to take a hard look at their processes and personnel.

“I have to say I think as a commission we have to take responsibility for the way this process works,” commissioner Francisco Aguilar stated at the conclusion of the hearing. “Had our inspectors been doing the job that they are hired to do and are expected to do by this commission, this would have never happened.

“I think we have to look at ourselves, and we have to look at the process, and we have to look at our inspectors to make sure we have the best inspectors in that room, who are willing to forego the social aspect of a fight and be there to do a job.”

Despite NSAC director Keith Kizer’s recommendation that the suspension begin today, commission members look to previous rulings and decided that Silva’s suspension would start from the date of the bout. In this case, that’s Jan. 1 2011 and Silva won’t be eligible to reapply for a license until Jan. 2, 2012.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Correction: Keith Kizer clarified on Pro MMA Radio that Thiago Silva’s license was revoked, not suspended. He will have to reapply for a license when he is eligible on Jan. 2, 2012.