The Chute Boxe USA official website is saying that Wanderlei Silva is set to fight Igor Vovchanchyn this weekend at Pride 34. Although Pride’s official website (the Japanese version) does list Wanderlei Silva as a participant, Pride has not yet announced the fight.
One stumbling block could be Silva’s suspension in Nevada. Following his knockout loss at the hands of Dan Henderson in February, he was medically suspended until April 11, 2007 due to damage sustained in the fight. Silva can be cleared to fight this weekend if he goes through the proper medical clearance procedures set forth by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and there is still time for that to get done.
The fight with Vovchanchyn would be Silva’s first since losing the Pride Middleweight Championship to Henderson in Las Vegas. Vovchanchyn hasn’t fought in more than a year and a half, since losing back-to-back fights to Kazuhiro Nakamura and Alistair Overeem.
Pride 34: Kamikaze
Saitama Super Arena
April 8, 2007
-Wanderlei Silva (#5 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Igor Vovchanchyn [pending Silva’s medical clearance]
-Ricardo Arona (#3 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
-Shinya Aoki (#6 Lightweight in the World)* vs. Brian Lo-A-Njoe
-Zelg Galesic vs. Makoto Takimoto
-Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Jeff Monson
-Don Frye vs. James Thompson
-Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Edson Drago
-Bazigit "Volk" Atajev vs. Gilbert Yvel
-Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs. Wagner da Conceicao Martins (aka Zuluzinho)
* Based on MMAWeekly Rankings