WANDERLEI SILVA IS OUT OF UFC 175, CHAEL SONNEN WILL NOW FACE VITOR BELFORT Wanderlei Silva was pulled from his scheduled UFC 175 fight against Chael Sonnen due to a failure to submit an application to fight in the state of Nevada, as well as his refusal to undergo a random drug test.
Silva had “ample time” to submit his application to compete at UFC 175 and elected not to do so, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Robert Bennett.
In addition, according to sources, both Silva and Sonnen were asked totake random drug tests while in Nevada last week for UFC 173. Sonnen complied with the request, however Silva refused.
NSAC officials declined to comment on matters regarding the random tests.
According to Bennett, Vitor Belfort, who replaced Silva on UFC 175’s pay-per-view lineup on Wednesday, submitted an application to fight in the state of Nevada last week.
Belfort’s application will undergo a “comprehensive review” at a June 17 meeting of NSAC officials, and while Bennett stated that no decision will be reached until the date of the meeting, he acknowledged that the commission will likely require Belfort to undergo supplementary drug testing before the commission reviews his license.
UFC officials issued the following statement on Wednesday:
“Due to issues related to Wanderlei Silva’s licensing in the state of Nevada, the UFC was forced to seek a replacement opponent to face Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 on Saturday, July 5 in Las Vegas. Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort has accepted the fight with Sonnen, subject to Belfort receiving a license to compete from the Nevada Athletic Commission.”
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