MMA: Silva-Sonnen II, Condit-Koscheck, UFC Prelims to Fuel & Week's Biggest News

Another busy week wrapped up in the MMA world with the UFC announcing plans for upcoming cards and the new year. 

Middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva's next opponent will be the man who nearly dethroned him at UFC 117, Chael Sonnen.

Although Carlos Condit will no longer be fighting for the welterweight title at UFC 143, the contender will take on former title-challenger Josh Koscheck at the February event.

In 2012, the UFC's preliminary card bouts will no longer stream on Facebook and will instead be shown on the cable network Fuel TV.

Additionally, a former Strikeforce champ is suing his former management, as well as a Bellator champ returning to action.

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter  @RobTatumMMA. 

Chael Sonnen Will Get Another Shot at Anderson Silva

Despite some uncertainty at first, Chael Sonnen will, in fact, be the next challenger for the UFC middleweight title.

The news was announced by UFC president Dana White on the Wednesday edition of "The Jim Rome Show."

Although the matchup is now confirmed, no date has been set for the long-awaited rematch as Silva is still recovering from shoulder injury.

Both Sonnen and fellow contender Mark Munoz had publicly made their case for a fight with the Brazilian, but it was Sonnen that earned the second chance to dethrone the champion. 

The pair battled at UFC 117 in August of 2010, with Silva defeating Sonnen by triangle choke in the fifth round.  Following the bout, the California State Athletic Commission suspended Sonnen for elevated levels of testosterone. 

Source: The Jim Rome Show

Carlos Condit to Face Josh Koscheck at UFC 143

Welterweight contender Carlos Condit has an opponent for the Feb. 4 card (expected to be UFC 143).  After his No.1 contender status was overtaken by Nick Diaz, Condit will now meet former title challenger Josh Koscheck.

Both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight.

The event is yet to be officially announced by the promotion, but champion Georges St-Pierre is expected to defend his belt against Diaz at the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Source: MMAJunkie

UFC Prelims Shift from Facebook to Fuel TV in 2012

With 2012 marking the official beginning of the UFC's relationship with Fox, the promotion has announced that its preliminary bouts will have a new home.

For the majority of the past year, the undercard fights have streamed via the UFC's Facebook page, but starting next year, the fights will be shown live on Fuel TV.

The news was one of many details announced surrounding the UFC’s programming across the Fox Networks.

Source: MMA Fighting

Alistair Overeem Files Lawsuit Against Golden Glory

Former Strikeforce and K-1 Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem announced recently that he had parted ways with his gym and management at Golden Glory.  

The separation goes deeper, as the Dutch fighter is taking legal action against them, alleging that Golden Glory owes him more than $150,000.  

The lawsuit seeks a court order to break his contract with Dutch-based management team.

Overeem will make his UFC debut on Dec. 30 against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 in Las Vegas.

Source: TMZ

With “Pitbull” Injured, Curran Gets First Shot at Warren

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire is still recovering from a second hand surgery, so fellow featherweight tournament winner Pat Curran will get the next shot at Bellator champion Joe Warren. Bellator CEO and chairman Bjorn Rebney confirmed the plans.

The title fight is targeted for a currently unannounced February event.  The event could also feature Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez vs. Dream champ Shinya Aoki.

Freire was supposed to get the next title shot ahead of “Summer Series” tourney winner Curran. However, a planned Bellator 47 rematch between Warren and Freire was canceled when the Brazilian suffered a broken hand.

Warren recently dropped a weight class and competed in the Season 5 bantamweight tourney, but Alexis Vila eliminated him in the opening round. He’ll now return to the featherweight division and will look to defend his title for the first time when he meets Curran.

Source: Bellator

After Another Scratch, Bobby Lashley Now Takes on Karl Knothe

Apparently, no one wants to fight Bobby Lashley for the Shark Fights heavyweight title on Nov. 11.

Yet another replacement has been made for the event with takes place at Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas. Karl Knothe is now the fifth different opponent tabbed to fight Lashley after the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation denied Mark Martinez a license due to incomplete medical paperwork.

The event airs via delay on FUEL TV on Dec. 23.

Source: MMA Junkie

Alex Soto Replaces Johnny Eduardo Against Michael McDonald at UFC 139

UFC President Dana White revealed that bantamweight Johnny Eduardo has been forced out of a scheduled UFC 139 bout with Michael McDonald due to injury.  

Stepping in to replace Eduardo will be Alex Soto, who enters the UFC with an undefeated 6-0-1 mark.

UFC 139 takes place Nov. 19 in San Jose, Calif. and is headlined by a light heavyweight collision between former Pride champions Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Dan Henderson.

Source: UFC

Rory MacDonald Injured; Claude Patrick Faces Brian Ebersole at UFC 140

Welterweight Rory MacDonald has been forced out of a scheduled contest against Brian Ebersole at UFC 140 in Toronto.  

The promotion has announced that Claude Patrick will now face Ebersole at the event.  

Patrick was slated to face Rich Attonito on the Dec. 10 card, and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement opponent to face the Ultimate Fighter alum.

The event takes place at the Air Canada Centre and is headlined by light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Lyoto Machida.

Source: UFC

Matt Riddle vs. Luis Ramos Added to UFC 141

Former Ultimate Fighter Matt Riddle will take on former Shooto champion Luis “Beicao” Ramos in a welterweight bout at UFC 141.

UFC president Dana White announced that verbal agreements are in place for the bout.

The event takes place Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight bout between former UFC champ Brock Lesnar and former Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem.

Source: UFC

UFC 142 Gains a Pair of Lightweight Bouts

Two lightweight battles have been added to the UFC’s return to Brazil in January.

Verbal agreements are in place for both bouts as Canadian Sam Stout will meet Brazil’s Thiago Tavares and England's Terry Etim with take on Brazilian Edson Barboza.  All four fighters are coming off impressive wins in recent months.

UFC 142 takes place on Jan. 14 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.  The venue hosted UFC 134 in August of this year.

Source: UFC