Sonnen

By FCF Staff

Chael Sonnen will not have to defeat any of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s top light-heavyweights to secure a title shot after all, as the charismatic fighter will reportedly fight champion Jon Jones next year on April 27th.

According to a report today from The Los Angeles Times, Sonnen and Jones will coach opposite one another on the seventeenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and will fight on the aforementioned date at a venue to be determined.

TUF 17 begins shooting on October 29th and will air in January on FX.

Sonnen announced he was returning to the light-heavyweight division after he was stopped by middleweight champion Anderson Silva in July. The former contender was scheduled to fight Forrest Griffin on December 29th, however, that bout has evidently been scrapped.

The bout will come as a surprise to many, considering that Jones recently cited Sonnen’s lack of activity at light-heavyweight, as one of the reasons the fighter didn’t deserve a title shot. Sonnen agreed to fight the champion on short notice at UFC 151, after challenger Dan Henderson was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Jones ended up taking a bout with Belfort at UFC 152 later in September, and submitted the former champion in the fourth round.

Although Dana White has also questioned the merit of fighter’s receiving immediate title shots in the past, a Sonnen, Jones bout is certain to be a well drawing fight. In addition, having the highly regarded fighters coach TUF could reboot the program’s sagging ratings.

Jones recently announced on Twitter that he had begun to change his mind about facing Sonnen, who has been calling out the star fighter for some time.