Wand vs. Sonnen Moves to Vegas; UFC 173, TUF Brazil 3 Finale, and UFC 175 Shuffle the Deck

The deck continues to shuffle on several prominent UFC fight cards since middleweight champion Chris Weidman withdrew from the UFC 173 fight card in order to have dual knee surgeries.

UFC president Dana White on Monday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com content partner Yahoo! Sports that several late spring and early summer fight cards have been effected. Fight cards that will keep fans checking the Sportsbook Review odds.

The previous UFC 173 co-main event between former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic is taking over as the new The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale main event. UFC 173 takes place on May 24, while the TUF Brazil 3 Finale is slated for the following week.

TUF Brazil 3 coaches Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen were originally slated to headline the May 31 card in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but will now serve as the co-main event at UFC 175 on July 5 in Las Vegas. Weidman is still expected to recuperate in time to put his belt on the line against Lyoto Machida in the UFC 175 headliner.

UFC 173 is headlined by bantamweight champion Renan Barão defending his belt against T.J. Dillashaw with Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Ellenberger in the co-main event.

With the removal of dos Santos vs. Miocic from the May 24 card, White told Yahoo! Sports reporter Kevin Iole that he’s “not done working on that card,” so we can expect that another fight may be added to the roster.

All these changes come amidst a heavy fight schedule for May, June, and July. The promotion will host two fight cards on May 31, the TUF Brazil 3 Finale in Brazil and UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi in Berlin. UFC 175 is also the first of back-to-back events in the same venue. UFC 175 takes place on July 5, while The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 Finale takes place on July 6, both at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas.

Be sure to follow the card changes in MMAWeekly.com’s rumors section, trying to connect the dots on your own could be hazardous to your health.