Antonio Silva (10-1) and Justin Eilers (19-6-1) have verbally agreed to meet at EliteXC’s July 26 event, which airs on both Showtime and CBS.

Fiveouncesofpain.com

reported on Tuesday that the two heavyweights are expected to sign bout agreements and will likely meet for the first-ever EliteXC heavyweight title, according to EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw.

Although Eilers was not the organization’s first choice to fight Silva, the UFC veteran has won 10 of his past 11 fights.

The Silva-Eilers fight will likely headline the Showtime portion of the event, which takes place at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. Later that night, EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler rematches with Scott Smith in the night’s main event, and Jake Shields takes on Nick Thompson for the first-ever EliteXC welterweight title.

Silva, 28, is an American Top Team fighter who’s riding a three-fight win streak (with all the victories coming in EliteXC). Aside from his latest fight — a split-decision victory over Ricco Rodriguez in February — he’s never fought past the first round.

Eilers, 30, is a former Miletich Fighting Systems fighter who went 1-3 in the UFC. He fought-then champ Andrei Arlovski at UFC 53 but suffered a first-round TKO. Since leaving the organization, he’s fought for a variety of organizations, including the WEC, HDNet Fights and Combat in the Cage. Of his 19 career victories, 17 have come via stoppage — 14 in the first round.

Martin Smith
martin@wwepreview.com