Erick Silva-Jon Fitch for UFC 153

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Fast-rising welterweight Erick Silva faces potentially his stiffest test Oct. 13 when he meets perennial contender Jon Fitch at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the promotion announced Tuesday night.

The card also features a welterweight showdown between high-level jujitsu practitioner Demian Maia and former contender Rick Story.

Silva (14-2, one no-contest) is 2-1 inside UFC. His only loss occurred Jan. 14 against Carlo Prater at UFC 142, when he was disqualified 29 seconds into the first round for hitting Prater behind the head.

Fitch (23-4-1, one no-contest) gets back in action for the first time since Dec. 30, 2011, when he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks in 12 seconds.

Maia, a former middleweight contender, makes his second appearance at 170 pounds.

He needed just 47 seconds to knock out Dong Hyun Kim during his welterweight debut on July 7.

Maia has a professional mixed martial arts record of 16-4.

Story ended a two-fight skid on June 22 with a unanimous decision over Brock Jardine. Before dropping two in a row, Story (14-5) had won six straight and was on the verge of landing a welterweight title shot.

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Franklin McNeil

Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts

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• MMA columnist for ESPN.com
• Analyst for "MMA Live"
• Covered MMA/Boxing for The Star-Ledger