Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Toronto fight fans will be getting a Jon Jones title defence in Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the city in December.

Light heavyweight champion Jones, who had been expected to face former friend and training partner Rashad Evans in his next title bout, will instead headline UFC 140 on Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre against former champ Lyoto Machida.

The match was confirmed Thursday by UFC president Dana White.

“Fighting 3 champions in one year, What a great challenge. Feeling alive,” Jones wrote on his Twitter account.

In addition to facing Machida, Jones this year has wins over ex-champs Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson.

Machida, who lost the title to Rua in May 2010, is coming off a knockout victory over Randy Couture at UFC 129 in Toronto. The company’s Ontario debut in April drew a record 55,724 fans paying a live gate at the Rogers Centre of more than $12 million.

Evans, who suffered a broken hand in his win over Tito Ortiz at UFC 133 in August, had pins removed from his hand on Wednesday. He was ordered by his doctor to wait three weeks before resuming heavy training, a timeline that would have given him barely five weeks to prepare for a championship bout.

The announcement of Machida getting the match versus Jones means more disappointment for Evans, a former champion who due to injuries has missed out on multiple title shots the past two years.

(Story Continues…)
WRITTEN BY DAVE DEIBERT, POSTMEDIA NEWS & FULL STORY HERE