UFC News: Anderson Silva Likely to Return in Early 2012

Anderson Silva will not fight again this year and will likely return to the Octagon early next year.

Silva's manager, Ed Soares, talked to mmafighting.com on Sunday and said that Silva injured his shoulder while training for his UFC 134 fight against Yushin Okami, which he won via second-round knockout.

Silva recently spoke to Tatame and said,

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"A month before the fight I injured my shoulder while training with Junior dos Santos and I was feeling a lot of pain in Rio. I've had to take some medicine and warn the athletic commission about it, I've talked to my doctors. I had an MRI and then I started feeling pains in my shoulder but the doctors let me go and said it was not that serious. It's a small injury, but I guess it's on the cuff and bothers me. I'll rest for a while and get healed."

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Silva also said that he hopes to return in the first quarter of 2012.

There is no clear cut No. 1 contender to his title, but Silva will likely face the winner of the Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann fight at UFC 136.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on Twitter @tmt2393.