Erick Silva injured, withdraws from Bellator 207 debut vs. Lorenz Larkin

Lorenz Larkin needs a new opponent for Bellator 207.

The one-time welterweight title contender was slated to meet Erick Silva in Uncasville on Oct. 12, but the Brazilian fighter has been forced out of the bout due to a rib injury, Silva confirmed to MMA Fighting following a report by MMAjunkie.

Silva (20-9, 1 no-contest), who signed with Bellator less than four weeks ago, is hoping to make his promotional debut later this year after recovering from a fissure in the rib cartilage.

“I ended up injuring my rib during a sparring session at Team Nogueira,” Silva told MMA Fighting. “I felt a lot of pain right away, I thought it was fractured. I went straight to a hospital to get a series of exams done and they noticed it wasn’t fractured, only injured.

”I was hopeful that I wouldn’t need to leave the card, but doctors won’t allow me to train for 30 days until they give it another look. So I can’t stay on this card, unfortunately. I was pretty upset, but I hope to recover as soon as possible to be able to make my Bellator debut this year.”

Larkin (19-7, 1 no-contest) hasn’t fought since January, when he scored his first Bellator victory against Fernando Gonzalez. It’s the second time in a row that Larkin has his opponent switched for the welterweight grand prix alternate bout.

“The Monsoon” left the UFC after going 4-1 over his last five bouts, including wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio, Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny, but lost to Douglas Lima and Paul Daley in his first Bellator appearances.

Bellator 207 takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena and features Ryan Bader vs. Matt Mitrione in the main event.