UFC 117 Co-Main event announced

A highly anticipated welterweight rematch between top contenders Thiago Alves (16-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Jon Fitch (22-3 MMA, 12-1 UFC) is finally official.

UFC officials announced that the long-rumored and previously scheduled bout will enjoy co-main event status at August's UFC 117.

Featuring a middleweight title fight between current champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chael Sonnen, UFC 117 takes place Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif. The main card airs live on pay-per-view.

Alves and Fitch were set to revisit their June 2006 meeting at this past March's UFC 111 card, but then New Jersey State Athletic Control Board suspended "Pitbull" just two days before the planned bout due to a failed CT scan. Following the assessment, Alves underwent an MRI and an angiogram (an X-ray of blood vessels) in order to be cleared.

Alves hasn't competed since a five-round decision defeat at the hands of current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009. The American Top Team fighter twice has been scheduled to avenge his second-round TKO loss to Fitch, which came in 2006. A knee injury forced the Brazilian out of UFC 107 in December prior to the events surrounding his UFC 111 withdrawal.

Fitch, meanwhile, ended up fighting late replacement Ben Saunders at UFC 111 and won a lopsided unanimous decision. The longtime contender now has won 12 of his 13 UFC fights; the lone loss came to champ St-Pierre at UFC 87. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has gone to a decision in his past six wins, including all four in his recent win streak, though he's faced tough-to-finish opponents such as Mike Pierce, Paulo Thiago and Diego Sanchez.