Former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva will get to settle his score with Chael Sonnen in his homeland of Brazil after all.
The UFC announced on its official website Thursday morning that Silva vs. Sonnen has been pushed back by one week and will now be held in Brazil at a venue to be determined:
The highly-anticipated showdown between The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 coaches Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva has a new date and home, as UFC resident Dana White announced Thursday that the light heavyweight bout will now headline a show in Brazil on May 31.
The statement also says the city and venue for the bout will be announced shortly.
Earlier this month, UFC President Dana White announced that The Axe Murderer would fight Sonnen in the co-main event of UFC 173, behind a middleweight title bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort.
Moments ago, MMA Fighting confirmed that the fight will headline a card on Fox Sports 1.
Just one day after the matchup was formally announced, The American Gangster told Fighters Only that a “fat” and “stressed” Wanderlei Silva wasn’t ready to fight in May and was trying to pull out of the matchup as a result.
The two archrivals are still filming The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 and have proven the bad blood is real by engaging in an impromptu physical altercation just weeks into filming, per MMA Weekly.
Rumors had swirled on the Internet in recent weeks that Silva would pull out of the bout if the venue was not moved to Brazil.
The recent change perhaps adds some credence to that theory.
Silva and Sonnen were at one point thought to settle their differences at UFC Fight Night 26 in August, but Sonnen fought fellow former Brazilian champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
The high-pressure wrestler won the bout with a guillotine choke in the first round.
Did the UFC make the right move in changing the date and venue of Sonnen vs. Silva?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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