Previous reports suggested that the UFC would be making its first trip to Utah for UFC 117 in early August in Salt Lake City, with a headlining middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. Additionally, following March’s UFC on Versus 1, UFC president Dana White announced that the second installment of the series would take place in Oakland, California. It now appears that the locations of those two events have been switched, according to MMA Junkie:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has contacted Utah’s state athletic commission and reserved Aug. 1 for a UFC on Versus event at Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena.
That’s the word from the Utah Athletic Commission’s Bill Colbert, who confirmed the plans with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) and Scott Sherman of The Salt Lake City Tribune.
MMAjunkie.com first reported last week that the UFC planned to host a show in Utah. However, the date we initially reported – Aug. 7 – instead will feature a traditional UFC pay-per-view event, UFC 117, in “northern California,” a source close to the organization said.
That “northern California” city may be Oakland; the show is expected to feature UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen. Although bout agreements have not been signed for the title fight, a source close to one of the competitors said the 19,500-seat Oracle Arena could host the PPV-televised fight.
To sum things up: August 1st will bring UFC on Versus 2 to the EnergySolutions Arena in SLC, while the following Saturday will see UFC 117 on PPV take place in Oakland, likely at the Oracle Arena. Beyond the Silva-Sonnen fight for 117, no other bouts are rumored for either of these two cards, but we’ll keep you updated whenever any new information comes in.
Additionally, a previously rumored Boston event at the TD Banknorth Garden is still expected for August 28th, making three live UFC events in the month of August. That card is expected to feature a rematch between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar, along with what is likely a number-one contender’s bout between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard.