Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva set for UFC 173 co-main event
After a little bit of a toggle between May and July, the grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva now has its home.
Sonnen (28-14-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) and Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC) will meet in the co-main event of UFC 173, which will take place May 25 in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White made the announcement on FOX Sports 1′s post-fight show for UFC 169, which took place Saturday in Newark, N.J.
The UFC was considering two spots for the fight – either May 25 for its annual Memorial Day weekend pay-per-view in Vegas, or July 5 for its annual Independence Day weekend show, also in “Sin City.â€
But this past week, White said wherever the middleweight title fight between champion Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort falls, that’s where the Sonnen-Silva fight will fall. With Saturday’s announcement that Weidman-Belfort will headline UFC 173, White made Sonnen-Silva official as that event’s co-feature.
Sonnen and Silva currently are coaching opposite each other in Brazil on that country’s third season of “The Ultimate Fighter.†Last week, the two heated rivals got into a scuffle during taping of the show.
White said it was the craziest thing that has happened in the history of the reality series.
Sonnen is coming off a TKO loss to Rashad Evans in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 167 in November. That dropped him back into the loss column after a “Submission of the Night†win over Mauricio “Shogun†Rua in August, a win that snapped a two-fight skid of title losses to then-middleweight champ Anderson Silva and light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones.
Wanderlei Silva has not fought in nearly a year. This past March, he stopped Brian Stann with a second-round “Knockout of the Night†in Japan, where he made his name fighting for PRIDE. “The Axe Murderer will be chasing his first winning streak since 2005-2006 in PRIDE.
UFC 173 has not yet announced a venue, but will likely take place either at Mandalay Bay Events Center or MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
