Anderson Silva out of UFC 198, could need surgery to remove gall bladder

Anderson Silva will not be making his return home this weekend.

The legendary former UFC champion is ill and out of his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 198 on Saturday in Curitiba, Brazil, the promotion announced Tuesday. Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole was the first to report the news. Silva is experiencing abdominal pains and might need surgery to remove his gall bladder, the report stated.

Silva (33-7, 1 NC) is regarded as perhaps the greatest UFC fighter of all time. The former middleweight champion compiled 16 straight wins and 10 straight middleweight title defenses, both UFC records. However, he has not won a fight since 2012 with three losses and a no contest on his record. Silva, 41, came back from a steroid suspension to fall to Michael Bisping by split decision in January.

"Anderson developed abdominal discomfort [Monday and] further evaluation today is consistent with acute cholecystitis," UFC medical consultant Dr. Jeff Davidson told Yahoo!. "He will be seen by a surgeon today for possible surgery."

Cholecystitis is the inflammation of the gall bladder, typically caused by the presence and movement of gallstones. Most doctors recommend removing the gall bladder altogether in a laparoscopic (and non-invasive) procedure if there are gallstones present. If the gallstones have migrated into Silva's bile ducts, though, further procedures could be needed. "The Spider" would probably be out of training for at least a few weeks if he required surgery, perhaps more.

Hall (12-6) is coming off a loss to Robert Whittaker at UFC 193 last November. Before that, the New York native won two straight and five of six. Hall, 31, made his name on The Ultimate Fighter 17 with multiple highlight-reel knockouts. He counts Silva among his idols.

UFC 198 is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic. In the co-main event, Ronaldo Souza meets vitor Belfort in a middleweight contender bout. Also on the card, Cris Cyborg makes her UFC debut against Leslie Smith.