The speculation is over.

Demian Maia has been tapped as Vitor Belfort's replacement for the UFC middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 112 from the Concert Arena from Ferrari World, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday, April 10.

MMAmania confirmed the news with a source close to the situation earlier today.

Belfort's shoulder injury that forced him to pull out of the title fight yesterday shook the MMA world to its core. Discussion as to who would step in to face Silva in the main event at UFC 112 immediately took center stage with names like Chael Sonnen, Thiago Silva, and even Randy Couture getting thrown into the mix. But as UFC President Dana White announced last night, Silva would fight at middleweight instead of taking on a top light heavyweight.And though Chael Sonnen earned number one contender status with his victory over Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, the cut he suffered during the fight will not heal in time for Sonnen to get his shot.Instead, the man who submitted Sonnen at UFC 95, Demain Maia, gets the lucky break. Maia (12-1) was on his own path to earning the title shot before the aforementioned Nate Marquardt derailed his efforts with one punch at UFC 102. The recipient of four "Submission of the Night" awards under the UFC banner, Maia will bring an unrivaled Brazilian jui-jitsu pedigree to the Octagon in an attempt to knock off middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva."The Spider" has successfully defended his middleweight belt five times since he put the MMA community on notice when he dominated former champ Rich Franklin at UFC 64 to wrestle the title away from "Ace."Owner of an unblemished 10-0 record inside the Octagon, Silva (25-4) has twice jumped up in weight class to fight at light heavyweight in an attempt to challenge himself, but neither James Irvin nor Forrest Griffin were capable of doing so.

Can Demian Maia represent that challenge? We'll see on April 10. But the question remains; is Maia the best option the UFC had to fill in for the injured Belfort? Would you have rather seen Silva take on another top light heavyweight?