Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann Verbally Agree to Fight at UFC 136

Hours after UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen was nixed from the UFC 136 card, he is now expected to be competing on the very same card.

And this time, he will be fighting at 185 pounds. 

Heavy.com is reporting that Sonnen will be fighting middleweight contender Brian Stann, as opposed to former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Heavy MMA maintains they “confirmed the news with sources close to the bout on Wednesday afternoon,” and the fight has “already been verbally agreed to, and contracts will be issued soon.”

Stann, a former WEC light heavyweight champion, has gone 3-0 in the UFC since dropping to middleweight.

“The All-American” was a mediocre 2-2 as a 205-pounder in the UFC. 

After a very convincing TKO victory over Sengoku star Jorge Santiago at UFC 130, Stann was rumored to face Mark Munoz in a title eliminator bout before the end of the year.

“The Filipino Wrecking Machine” put himself into title contention by winning a very close decision over Demian Maia at UFC 131. 

Now, it does not appear Stann will have to change his game plan very much, as he faces another big, powerful wrestler in former US Olympic wrestling alternate Chael Sonnen.

While the title implications surrounding this fight has not been explicitly stated, this could easily be a No. 1 contender fight to determine who gets to fight for the UFC middleweight title in early 2012. 

For Sonnen, that could be a rematch with his arch-nemesis Anderson Silva, whom Uncle Chael pushed to the brink at their UFC 117 encounter.

That was Sonnen’s last fight, as he has been dealing with the suspension of his fighter’s license in both Nevada and California ever since, that is until last week when Sonnen’s license expired.

Another possibility is that Sonnen could face off with friend and occasional training partner Yushin Okami.

Okami was soundly defeated by Sonnen via unanimous decision at UFC 104; however, he is Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s next opponent at UFC 134. 

It is public knowledge that Sonnen trained with Okami in Brazil last month, as part of training camp for Okami’s next bout.

Of course, it would be foolish to write off Brian Stann against Sonnen, as he has won five of his last six fights.

That includes three finishes, and his only loss was at the hands of light heavyweight contender Phil Davis.

Can Stann stuff Sonnen’s take downs and do some damage with his heavy hands?

Or will Sonnen bring the fight to the mat and control the pace with his ground and pound?

Only time will tell, but regardless, this looks to be a compelling middleweight encounter for fighters and fans alike.