The Nevada State Athletic Commission has assigned Yves Lavigne to referee the UFC 148 main event between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

MMA Junkie first reported the news on Thursday.

The fight, which will take place July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will be judged by Patricia Morse Jarman, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee.

"I was kind of shocked because I didn't expect that one," Lavigne told Mauro Ranallo on Friday's episode of The MMA Show. "To be honest, it's a privilege when a commissioner asks you to go into his jurisdiction to go ref. Normally, I'm just happy to be a part of the show because it's a privilege to be there."

Some of the big fights Lavigne, a 15-year veteran Canadian referee, has officiated in the past include Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra 2 at UFC 83, GSP vs. John Fitch at UFC 87, Silva vs. Thales Leites at UFC 97 and Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua 2 at UFC 113.