Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen season of 'TUF' to air Tuesdays

• Switch from Fridays hasn't been announced, though officials confirmed to USA TODAY Sports
• TUF 17 began filiming in October and wraps up in the coming weeks

The Ultimate Fighter is apparently moving to Tuesday.

An advertisement in the new issue of UFC 360, formerly known as UFC Magazine, declares the upcoming 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter debuts on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 9 p.m. ET.

UFC and FX officials have yet to make an official announcement, however representatives from both companies have since confirmed the change with USA TODAY Sports. UFC President Dana White was a little more coy.

"That day sounds good to me," White said.

TUF 17, which began filming in October and wraps in the coming weeks, is expected to feature middleweight fighters. However, UFC and FX officials have yet to reveal the cast. UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen serve as coaches on the show and are expected to meet in the headlining event of an April UFC pay-per-view event.

After 14 seasons on Spike TV, the past two seasons of the series aired on FX on Friday nights. In October, FX exec Chuck Saftler revealed the network had decided to move the show to a different night in an effort to revive declining ratings, but did not at the time specify which night ultimately would host the series.

Promotion officials had been keeping the new timeslot private as rival promotion Bellator Fighting Championships also was expecting to move out of its Friday slot and into a new night of the week to coincide with its transition from MTV2 to the UFC's old broadcast partner, Spike TV. Bellator executives also have not made an official announcement, but as MMAjunkie.com first reported, the company has already started securing venues for Thursday nights in 2013, beginning with Jan. 10 in New Jersey for what is expected to serve as Bellator 85.

The Tuesday night slot means The Ultimate Fighter could potentially serve as a lead-in for FX's popular "Sons of Anarchy" series, which currently airs on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. ET and this past week drew more than 4.2 million viewers. FX-original series "Justified" takes that 10 p.m. ET timeslot in January and will likely follow "TUF 17."

The UFC, of course, in 2011 started a partnership with FOX and left its former home of Spike TV, which has continued to air taped content throughout 2012. In addition to live events that have aired on FOX, FX and FUEL TV, the new deal brought the 15th and 16th seasons of The Ultimate Fighter to Friday nights on FX.

John Morgan and Matt Erickson write for MMAJunkie.com, a USA TODAY Sports Media property.