Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva set for UFC 173 co-main event on May 24 in Las Vegas

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight mouthpiece Chael Sonnen will finally get his hands on fellow ex-middleweight Wanderlei Silva in the UFC 173 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, scheduled for May 24, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC President Dana White made the announcement on Saturday.

If this report is accurate, then their upcoming bout will actually serve as a rematch, since Sonnen previously came to blows with Silva on the set of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Brazil 3," currently filming for its "Fight Pass" debut on March 9 via the promotion's new digital network (more on that here).

Or sooner, knowing these two.

Sonnen and Silva were first scheduled to hook 'em up as early as UFC 167; however, lingering back issues and a dispute over the pay-per-view (PPV) revenue kept "The Axe Murderer" in the tool shed. Sonnen stayed busy by splitting a pair of bouts between Shogun Rua (win) and Rashad Evans (loss).

See a photo of their first staredown here.

UFC 173 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring undefeated champion Chris Weidman, as he puts his 185-pound title on the line against former two-division titleholder Vitor Belfort (details). No other match-ups have been announced for the Memorial Day Weekend fight card, but you can expect that to change sooner rather than later.

Stay tuned.