A planned fight between current coaches Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva could join a summer UFC event that will be headlined by middleweight champion Chris Weidman defending his belt against top challenger Vitor Belfort.
According to UFC president Dana White, that event could take place July 5 in Las Vegas. He revealed the information to the media at a pre-fight news conference in New York City, just across the river from Newark, N.J., where UFC 169 takes place on Saturday.
The July event would be UFC 175, and it would coincide with the UFC’s second annual International Fight Week. Of course, White also noted it could take place in May; Weidman recently revealed his preference for fighting at the UFC’s traditional Memorial Day weekend event so that he could enjoy “a real summer” with his family in New York.
Earlier this week, White revealed that Sonnen and Silva had gotten into a scuffle during filming for the reality show in Brazil. Sources close to the situation told Bleacher Report that Sonnen took Silva to the ground and was throwing punches, while Silva elbowed him from the bottom. Sonnen was punched in the back of the head by Andre “Dida” Amade, one of Silva’s assistant coaches on the show.
White said that punishment was dealt out for the fight between the coaches, but that viewers will have to wait until the show airs to see what happened in its entirety.
He was insistent that both fights will take place in Vegas, although a legal roadblock may make things difficult for Belfort. The Brazilian recently noted he would apply for a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. But a source close to the commission told Bleacher Report that it is “highly unlikely” Belfort will be granted an exemption due to his past Nevada failure for the performance-enhancing drug hydroxytestosterone following a PRIDE fight there in 2006.
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