Chael Sonnen to return to 205 against Forrest Griffin

Two-time UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen has announced that his next fight will come at light heavyweight against former champion Forrest Griffin. The bout will be part of UFC 155, which takes place Dec. 29 in Las Vegas. Sonnen broke the news of the bout during an appearance on "UFC Tonight."

Griffin defeated Sonnen via triangle-choke submission in the first round of the IFC "Global Domination" tournament back in 2003. At the time, it was one of Griffin's signature wins and at least partially responsible for his invitation to compete on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Between 2009-2010, Sonnen put together a three-fight winning streak that put him in position to challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title. When his shot finally came, Sonnen made the most of it and nearly took the belt from the champion. However, he still fell victim to a late triangle choke. After out of the cage issues, including an athletic commission suspension, Sonnen fought his way back to the title with back-to-back wins over Brian Stann and Michael Bisping. Once again Sonnen could not wrestle the belt away from the champion. Silva finished the fight less than two minutes into the second round.

Griffin won the light heavyweight version of the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter." His memorable finale fight with Stephan Bonnar is widely credited for advancing the popularity of the sport on television. Three years later, he coached against Quinton Jackson on the seventh season. Following the show, he defeated "Rampage" for the light heavyweight title. However, since then, the former champion has fallen on hard times with only a 3-3 record including two victories over Tito Ortiz.

The main event of UFC 155 is expected to feature heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos defending his title against Cain Velasquez. Dos Santos defeated Velasquez for the belt last November.