Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva Confirmed for UFC 173 in Support of Weidman vs. Belfort

UFC president Dana White at a media gathering in New York on Thursday said that whether Chris Weidman’s title defense against Vitor Belfort landed on July 5 or May 24, it was likely that the fight between The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 coaches Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva would follow suit.

The UFC confirmed on Saturday night that Weidman vs. Belfort would headline UFC 173 on May 24. White, at the UFC 169 post-fight show on Fox Sports 1, also confirmed that Sonnen vs. Silva would also be featured on the Memorial Day Weekend fight card in Las Vegas.

Sonnen and Silva have had a longstanding rivalry that recently spilled over into a physical altercation during the filming of TUF Brazil 3.

“Wanderlei and Chael fought. Just today. They literally fought,” White said during a media luncheon with MMAWeekly.com on Monday after hesitating about whether or not he should reveal the reality series incident.

He didn’t provide much detail, but said there was a physical confrontation between the two and that at least one other person from Silva’s team was involved.

“While they were fighting, one of Wanderlei’s guys sucker punched Chael,” White continued.  “It went on for awhile.”

He later said that there was punishment doled out for the incident, but that we’d have to wait for the show to air on UFC Fight Pass to find out what the punishment was, since it was integrated into the reality show.

Now White is just hoping that they can keep things contained until May, so that Sonnen and Silva can settle things in the Octagon.