Sonnen vs. Wand moved from UFC 173 to May 31 in Brazil

The highly anticipated light heavyweight bout between Chael Sonnen (28-14-1 MMA, 7-6 UFC) and Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC) will no longer take place in the co-main event slot at UFC 173.

Instead, UFC officials announced today that the fight will now headline a May 31 event in Brazil. A city and venue has yet to be named, but that announcement is expected to come shortly.

Sonnen is coming off a TKO loss to former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at November’s UFC 167 event in Las Vegas. Prior to that, Sonnen submitted Shogun Rua in the main event of “UFC Fight Night 26” in Boston.

Meanwhile, it’s been almost a year since “The Axe Murderer” last saw the inside of the octagon. His last bout came opposite Brian Stann in Japan, where Silva earned a second-round “Knockout of the night” victory over his American opponent.

Stay tuned to BJPENN.com for further information regarding the May 31st event.