Wednesday, December 16, 2009
by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)
21597
Jon Jones and Brandon Vera will meet in a light heavyweight headliner at a UFC event on March 21 in Denver, Sherdog.com has learned from multiple sources.
The event and its venue have not been officially announced by the promotion yet, though Sherdog.com has learned the event will air live on Versus.
Versus, which broadcasts the UFC’s sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting, announced on Monday that it would air two live UFC events in 2010.
Vera was left without an opponent this week when Antonio Rogerio Nogueira withdrew from their featured UFC 109 contest, scheduled for Feb. 6 in Las Vegas, with a fractured ankle.
Jones had originally been offered Nogueria’s vacated slot at UFC 109, said the fighter’s manager Ryan Ciotoli, of Bombsquad Management. However, Jones’ camp requested the bout be moved to March as the fighter and his wife had just welcomed the birth of their daughter.
Vera lost a unanimous decision to UFC hall of famer at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England. The 32-year-old kickboxer had previous victories against Krzysztof Soszynski and Michael Patt this year.
The 22-year-old Jones opened eyes with his non-traditional striking techniques, which led to a unanimous decision against “Ultimate Fighter” runner-up Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94 last January. Jones was disqualified from his Dec. 5 bout against Matt Hamill at "The Ultimate Fighter 10" finale for using illegal elbow strikes, but was dominating the bout until the referee intervened. Jones’ camp filed an appeal this week, arguing that the illegal strikes were not what had caused Hamill’s inability to continue.
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