Sonnen (photo via telegraph.co.uk)

By FCF Staff

Chael Sonnen has announced that after he battles Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 26 on August 17th, the veteran fighter will return to the middleweight division, where he was a top contender for quite some time. The 36 year old, who fought light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones in April but was stopped in the first round, made the announcement on the latest episode of “UFC Tonight.”

“I’ll return to middleweight after beating Shogun,” Sonnen said according to a press release from FOX Sports. “There’re two guys I want to get matched up with: Vitor Belfort, because he’s awesome and he’s on an incredible roll. And Wanderlei Silva, who I’ve heard is going back to middleweight. The landscape has completely changed. I’ve got a new contract and I’m returning to the weight class.”

The charismatic fighter also confirmed that his new deal is for five fights, and that he’s moving his training camp to Reign MMA in Lake Forest, California, to train with highly regarded instructor and middleweight Mark Munoz.

Sonnen (27-13-1) moved to light-heavyweight following his second defeat versus former middleweight champ Anderson Silva last summer. Rua (21-7) has competed since December when he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Gustafsson.

UFC Fight Night 26 will be hosted by Boston’s TD Garden and will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.