Dana White: July 19 is on, and Silva's coming

Forget the rumors.

SI.com confirmed with Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White that the promotion is set to hold a July 19 event in Las Vegas at The Palms hotel.

Undefeated middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who was originally speculated to highlight UFC 88 in Atlanta on September 6, will headline the July event. However, White said "Spider" could more than likely appear on both cards.

Silva's last fight was against Dan Henderson at UFC 82 in March. Silva won the title unification bout by submission via rear naked choke in the second round.

Once word got out about the UFC even considering a July 19 card, the assumption was that White was trying to counter Donald Trump's latest endeavor in Affliction's Banned in Anaheim, Calif., which is set for the same day.

Among the fighters on Affliction's pay-per-view card are heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia in the main event.

White denied such reasons of counter-programming, claiming, instead, that more fights is simply "giving the fans what they want. And Silva just wants to fight more," he said.

Other names on the card have yet to be confirmed.