Jon Jones scores 'EA Sports UFC' cover, fan voting to determine second fighter

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will be featured on the cover of next years “EA Sports UFC” video game release.

UFC and EA Sports officials today announced the plans.

“It’s another one of those surreal moments, one of those moments you just have to step back and pinch yourself and realize I’m not dreaming,” Jones stated in an official release.

Additionally, a second athlete will join Jones on the cover as determined by a fan vote. There are 16 candidates for the slot, including
UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, Urijah Faber, Alexander Gustafsson, Benson Henderson, Johny Hendricks, Chael Sonnen and Miesha Tate.

The vote, sponsored by MetroPCS, “consists of a weekly, round-by-round, head-to-head elimination tournament,” according to an official release.

Voting begins today at UFC.com/covervote.

“EA Sports UFC” will replace the most recent game in the UFC division, THQ’s “UFC Undisputed.” EA Sports previously released “EA Sports MMA,” which prominently featured Strikeforce fighters prior to Zuffa’s purchase of that promotion.

EA Sports’ most popular games include titles in its Madden franchise for the NFL, NBA Live and FIFA for soccer.

(Pictured: Jon Jones)