In a move predicted by Chael Sonnen in the weeks preceding their scheduled bout, Wanderlei Silva has been pulled from his UFC 175 fight against Sonnen as confirmed by MMA Fighting.
The reason for “The Axe Murderer’s” departure is a failure to be licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) after he missed a meeting with them.
In Silva’s place will be Vitor Belfort, who was originally supposed to fight Chris Weidman for the middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 173, before being pulled out due to purported issues with his use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
This marks the first time that both competitors, Sonnen (28-14-1) and Belfort (24-10), will be competing off of TRT since it was banned by the NSAC earlier this year.
UFC 175 will emanate live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 5, 2014. The card will be headlined by UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman defending his title against Lytoto Machida, as well as UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey defending her title against Alexis Davis.
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