UFC: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen bout on April 27 could come to New Jersey

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The next UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout will take place on April 27, 2013, when Jon Jones takes on Chael Sonnen following a stint on The Ultimate Fighter to kick off the year. The date is set, but a location and venue haven't yet been locked down.

However, the UFC has been looking in at least one area for sure, as UFC President Dana White revealed that the organization is eying the state of New Jersey for the event at which the title bout would take place.

Those are just preliminary plans, and haven't been locked down, but that would be in line with dates the UFC has run in the state in the last several years. The organization most recently went to New Jersey in June, bringing UFC on FX 4 to Atlantic City, but the previous two years they ran events in the state during the month of March.

Penick's Analysis: If New Jersey winds up being the host state, it would be the fourth time Jones will have competed in the state in his MMA career. The native of New York state fought in Atlantic City twice in the months prior to his UFC debut, and captured the title in Newark when he defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128. It's sensible to put one of his title defenses on the east coast, and New Jersey has typically brought out a good crowd for the UFC.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_14711.shtml

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