Will Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen ever fight?
According to UFC President Dana White, Silva, who coaches opposite Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, injured his back during the infamous brawl that occurred on set, delaying his eventual showdown with The American Gangster.
If anybody thought the melee was staged, those thoughts should be put to rest now, as Silva’s injury and the chaos which ensued inside the building were very real, White said (per MMAjunkie.com).
“He (Silva) got double legged on the concrete and he hurt his back. He hurt his hand punching Chael in the head and he got injured,” White told MMAjunkie after The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale in Quebec. “He couldn’t fight on time because he got hurt in the fight f—–g coaching a show.”
Silva and Sonnen were originally planned to serve as the co-main event at UFC 173, but that changed in February when it was announced that the two would instead headline a UFC Fight Night card May 31 in Brazil.
Then just two weeks ago on April 7, the fight got moved again to a co-main event slot at UFC 175 on July 5 in Las Vegas (per Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole).
All this shuffling due to an unnecessary on-screen brawl…
Do you see a pattern?
The fight has been moved twice since it was first announced, and Iole’s latest report (linked above) says that Silva vs. Sonnen will serve as a “co-main event” at UFC 175.
However, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will defend her title against Alexis Davis at that event, as will UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman against Lyoto Machida.
Two title fights. Main event and co-main event.
Sealed.
Would the UFC put Silva vs. Sonnen under Rousey vs. Davis?
While this would stack the card to an insane degree, the promotion could be better served by again delaying that matchup and bolstering a weaker card down the line.
Sonnen, for what it’s worth, sees the signs.
On top of this, check out the UFC website’s official fight card for UFC 175.
Three matchups are posted: Weidman vs. Machida, Rousey vs. Davis and Uriah Hall vs. Thiago Santos.
Silva and Sonnen are nowhere to be found. One could argue that the UFC’s web team simply hasn’t updated the site, but Rousey vs. Davis was announced after Sonnen vs. Silva was moved to 175, so that’s not the case.
What’s going on here?
Is Sonnen correct? Will Silva delay the fight once more?
Will they ever fight at all?
Right now, White assures us that the fight is still happening July 5 at UFC 175.
The signs, however, tell us something else.
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