Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson set for Submission Underground 2

No punches will be thrown, but Jon Jones and Dan Henderson will finally get a chance to compete.

Four years after an injury to Henderson led to the cancelation of a title fight with Jones at UFC 151, the recently retired legend will face the UFC interim light heavyweight champ on the grappling mats at Submission Underground 2, fighter and promoter Chael Sonnen today told MMAjunkie.

Verbal agreements are in place for the match, which headlines the Sonnen-promoted event on Dec. 11. FloCombat.com streams the star-studded card at Roseland Theater in Portland, Ore.

Contractually, UFC fighters are barred from participating in “dangerous activities” because they carry the risk of injury, but the promotion has previously made exceptions for grappling tournaments. A request for comment from UFC officials wasn’t immediately returned.

Jones has been inactive from competition since a failed out-of-competition drug test led to the cancelation of a title unifier with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. He entered arbitration proceedings with UFC anti-doping partner USADA and today received a one-year suspension.

Because the Oregon State Athletic Commission does not regulate grappling events, Jones’ suspension will not affect his ability to compete.

After a long and storied career, Henderson officially retired from MMA competition this past month at UFC 204 after a failed rematch with champ Michael Bisping.

The event’s co-headliner features another UFC-centric match, with former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate squaring off with Jessica Eye. Tate makes a quick turnaround after fighting Raquel Pennington on Saturday at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, while Eye tries to shake off a slump that’s led to a 1-5 run in the octagon.

Submission Underground utilizes a modified version of the Eddie Bravo Invitational rules, meaning a competitor can win only by scoring a submission.

According to FloCombat, if there are no submissions, the match moves to an overtime period. The winner of a coin flip can elect to start the overtime period attacking from the back or from the “spiderweb,” or arm bar, position. If one competitor scores a submission and his opponent does not, he is declared the winner. But if both competitors escape from submission attempts, the match moves to the next overtime round. After three overtime rounds, the competitor who escaped the quickest is declared the winner.

More matchups will be added to the Dec. 11 event in the coming weeks, according to Sonnen, including a match between onetime UFC heavyweight title challenger Jeff Monson and UFC vet Ronny Markes.