A heavyweight bout between Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic will now serve as the main event for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil Finale on May 31 in Sao Paolo.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports first reported the news on Monday afternoon.
The original main event was scheduled to be Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva in a grudge match between The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil coaches. Sonnen and Silva have engaged in a public grudge match over the past few years.
But that fight has now been moved to UFC 175 in July, where it will serve as the co-main event. No reason has been given for the bout’s abrupt move.
UFC 175 takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. It is headlined by a middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida. The Weidman vs. Machida fight was booked for UFC 173, but an injury to Weidman forced the bout to be postponed.
UFC President Dana White told Iole that he’s still working on the UFC 173 fight card, which has now lost one of its featured bouts.
“I’m not done working on that card,” White said.
Sources close to the event told Bleacher Report that a light heavyweight bout between Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson, originally scheduled for UFC 175, is being considered for a move to UFC 173. But Cormier told Bleacher Report last week that he wouldn’t be ready to fight by May.
Dos Santos vs. Miocic was scheduled as the co-main event for UFC 173 on May 24. The main event features T.J. Dillashaw challenging Renan Barao for the bantamweight title. A welterweight bout between Robbie Lawler and Jake Ellenberger is also featured on the card.
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