Chael Sonnen will get a second chance at Anderson Silva.
Even after Sonnen’s recent and repeated claims that Silva would never accept a fight with him, the middleweight champ has in fact agreed to once again put up his belt in an upcoming title defense, UFC president Dana White said on Saturday night. Sonnen has also agreed to the bout, according to White.
The fight is likely to take place in June, in Silva’s home country of Brazil.
The first fight between the two took place at UFC 117 in August 2010. Memorably, Sonnen controlled the action deep into the fifth, until Silva pulled off a dramatic submission win. In the aftermath, Sonnen was granted an immediate rematch, but that was quickly derailed when he was suspended for failure to disclose testosterone replacement therapy.
Sonnen served a suspension and his since gone 2-0, defeating Brian Stann and Michael Bisping in consecutive fights.
In the meantime, Silva has continued his swath of destruction, earning knockout wins over Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami. After the Okami fight, the 36-year-old Silva addressed several nagging injuries, and he hasn’t fought since the August 2011 date.
The exact date for the Silva-Sonnen fight is yet undecided, though the promotion has been scouting locations in Sao Paulo in June.