UFC 169 Set for Super Bowl Weekend, Includes Jones vs. Teixeira and Mir vs. Overeem

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ next title defense is now official. He will square off with Glover Teixeira at UFC 169 on Feb. 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

UFC officials made the bout and event official on Thursday.

The Jones vs. Teixeira bout was not a surprise nor was the date and location. What was a bit of a surprise, however, was another bout announced for UFC 169.

Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem were scheduled to fight at UFC 167 on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, but will now move to the UFC 169 fight card in Newark, in part to be sure Mir is medically fit for the fight.

“While there was no indication whatsoever that Mir wouldn’t be fully, medically cleared in time to compete on November 16th, UFC officials and Nevada Commission representatives believed that a short postponement would allow both athletes more time to train for the bout,” said a UFC statement to Newsday.

The move also gives the Super Bowl weekend fight card a loaded top end.

The move to New Jersey for Super Bowl weekend is a big one for the UFC. Their television partners at Fox will be airing the next Super Bowl and they asked the UFC to move it’s annual event to New Jersey to help them dominate the sports world that week.

The UFC has traditionally held its Super Bowl weekend events in Las Vegas.