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UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his belt against recent middleweight convert Chael Sonnen on April 27.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. No venue was announced.
Jones initially declined to meet Sonnen on eight days' notice after Dan Henderson was forced off a Sept. 1 card with a knee injury.
Following Jones' refusal, Zuffa, the Las Vegas-based promotional company that owns and operates UFC, opted to cancel UFC 151, a first during almost 12 years of business.
Jones (17-1) instead agreed to meet Vitor Belfort on Sept. 22 in Toronto, where he retained the title via fourth-round submission. Early in the fight, however, Belfort secured an armbar that hyperextended the champion's right arm before the submission was denied. As of two weeks ago, Jones' elbow had not fully recovered, necessitating the April date, White told the Los Angeles Times.
Sonnen (27-12-1) is best known for two contests against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The Oregonian fell short of defeating Silva in July, suffering a second-round technical knockout.
Two years earlier, the strong wrestler pushed Silva into the fifth round before succumbing to a triangle choke.
Sonnen was assigned to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 155, Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, before being moved to face Jones. The contest with Griffin would have been Sonnen's first at light heavyweight since he debuted in the UFC in 2005.
Leading up to the spring pay-per-view fight, Jones, 25, and Sonnen, 35, will serve as coaches for the latest installment of "The Ultimate Fighter" on FX. The long-standing reality show begins shooting Oct. 29 in Las Vegas and features fighters competing at 185 pounds. The series hits television sets in January, eight years after debuting on Spike TV. Since moving to FX in 2012, ratings have suffered, hitting an all-time series low last week with 624,000 viewers.
3 comments:
This should be a very good fight. Hopefully Chael will stop trying to throw backward spinning elbows though
YES!!!! Sonnen will shoot his mouth off and Jones can close it for him!
Hendo is getting ripped off! I like his comment to Dana White in this regard as Hendo tweeted "I guess I should just quit training to win fights and be exciting for the fans and just go to shit talking school".
Let's face it Sonnen's main asset is his mouth and how entertaining his interviews are. With a record of 28-12-1 - he is average at best. He sure is milking his one good showing against Silva when Silva wasn't 100 per cent.
I guess it's all about the money and you can't blame Chael for cashing in.
Iron Mike
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