Jon Jones will defend his light-heavyweight belt against Chael Sonnen in Newark, N.J., in April, the UFC officially announced on Monday.
The organization announced its 2013 FOX broadcast schedule, and also included events on FX and FUEL TV and a couple of pay-per-view shows, including “UFC: Jones vs. Sonnen” set for April 27 at the Prudential Center.
Jones, a native of Rochester, N.Y., will return to the venue where he first captured the belt a little more than two years prior. At UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, Jones defeated Mauricio (Shogun) Rua by third-round TKO to become the youngest champion in UFC history.
It was already announced that Jones and Sonnen, who will serve as opposing coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, will fight each other in April with the fight rumoured to take place in the Garden State. The UFC confirmed it Monday, and said that it will be on PPV. Jones vs. Sonnen, backed by the trash-talking Sonnen and equally vocal Jones, will be expected to draw huge numbers.
Monday’s announced schedule included 2013’s four UFC on FOX dates — the number of annual shows under the UFC’s multi-year deal with the network — as well as one UFC on FX show, one UFC on FUEL TV show, and one other PPV, the previously announced UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar set for Super Bowl Weekend.
The four UFC on FOX shows will take place on Jan. 26, April 20, July 27 and Dec. 14, with only the first’s location announced — UFC on FOX 6 will take place at Chicago’s United Center, the same place that UFC on FOX 2 did in January 2012.
Here is the list of events announced Monday for 2013:
Saturday, Jan. 19 | Brazil | UFC on FX: BELFORT vs. BISPING
Saturday, Jan. 26 | United Center, Chicago | UFC on FOX
Saturday, Feb. 2 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas | UFC 156: ALDO vs. EDGAR (PPV)
Saturday, Feb. 16 | International Event | UFC on FUEL TV
Saturday, April 20 | City to be announced | UFC on FOX
Saturday, April 27 | Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. | UFC: JONES vs. SONNEN (PPV)
Saturday, July 27 | City to be announced | UFC on FOX
Saturday, Dec. 14 | City to be announced | UFC on FOX
More shows FX, FUEL TV and PPV events will be announced at later dates.
“2013 is shaping up to be a huge year for the UFC and we can’t wait to bring more great fights to FOX,” UFC president Dana White said in a press release. “We’re going to continue to take the UFC all over the world putting on the biggest and best fights. FOX is an amazing broadcast partner and we’re going to do some big things next year.”
It is expected that the UFC on FOX, FX and FUEL TV events will air on Sportsnet, as well as the televised preliminary fights prior to the PPV events.
