'Rampage' Jackson-Chael Sonnen is Bellator 192 headliner over Douglas Lima vs. Rory MacDonald title fight

After months of promoting Douglas Lima vs. Rory MacDonald as the Bellator 192 main event, the promotion has called an audible for the headliner of its first card of the year.

Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima

The Bellator heavyweight grand prix matchup between Chael Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) and Quinton Jackson (37-12 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) now will close the Jan. 20 show, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and airs on Paramount Network following prelims on MMAjunkie.

MMA reporter Steven Muehlhausen of The Sporting News revealed the switch following an interview with Bellator President Scott Coker (via Twitter):

The welterweight championship matchup between Lima (29-6 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) and MacDonald (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was announced Sept. 20. The bout has been the leading fight on all Bellator 192 promotional materials, but apparently with just over a week until the event, a decision was made to adjust the bout order.

According to Muehlhausen, Coker said the final call was determined by Paramount Network executives, and the two top fights are being billed as a “double main event.”

For complete coverage of Bellator 192, check out the MMA Events section of the site.