(Dana White tries to convince Quinton Jackson to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 98, following Rampage’s decision win over Keith Jardine last Saturday. Video courtesy of WatchKalibRun via TheGarv.)
SportsIllustrated has confirmed that former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has turned down the opportunity to challenge Rashad Evans for the 205-pound title at UFC 98 (May 23rd, Las Vegas), due to the short turnaround and his lingering injuries. Taking his place will be Lyoto Machida, the undefeated — and virtually untouchable — Brazilian contender who most recently knocked out Thiago Silva at UFC 94 in January. Evans vs. Machida is the official main-event replacement for Mir vs. Lesnar, which was scrapped from the card thanks to Mir’s bum knee.
"Sugar" and "The Dragon" are very similar on paper. Both are undefeated in 14 professional fights — Evans is 13-0-1, while Machida is 14-0. Both have gone the distance in the majority of their UFC appearances, but are coming off of dramatic stoppage victories. And they have three opponents in common: Tito Ortiz (who Machida beat by unanimous decision last May and Evans drew with in 2007), Stephan Bonnar (who Machida won a cut-stoppage TKO over in 2003 and Evans beat via majority decision in 2006) and Sam Hoger (who Machida defeated by unanimous decision in 2007 and Evans took a split decision over in 2006).
Evans/Machida may not turn out to be Fight of the Year — we’re expecting more of a cautious and technical match than a thrilling one — but it’s also not the easiest fight to predict, which makes it compelling. Will Evans and the Team Jackson camp be able to come up with a gameplan that solves the confounding riddle of Lyoto Machida? Will Machida still look invincible against a true top-of-the-food chain light-heavyweight?
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Comments
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:46
First! Hooray for me bitches!!!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:46
I think most MMA fans will be happy to have this fight as the main card.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:47
So much win! Fuck an Rampage!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:49
I see Evans taking this considering that those who've bet against him in the past have always been wrong.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:51
wow this is gonna be a good fight!!! im predicting that lyoto will win :) hey does that say that evans v.s. tito was a draw???? WTF?
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:54
Thank You Frank Mir for taking care of your injuries. We now have a much better 5 round main event. Machida Evans > Lesnar Mir
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:56
Yeah, Evans vs. Tito was ruled a draw, that Tito clearly won. They deducted a pint from Tito for holding the fence the very 1st time, and never deducted a single point from Rashad in the 4-5 times he used the fence to slow being taken down. I was there and I didn't really care who won cause I am not a huge fan of either of them. It was pretty shitty and I think the UFC had something to do with sticking it to Tito there and salvaging Rashad's unbeaten record the only way they new wouldn't be questionable.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 12:57
@Machete for hands-yes that does say Evans vs. Tito was a draw. They fought to a draw at UFC 73-Stacked, hence 13-0-1 record. Machida won a unanimous decision victory over Tito at UFC 84.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:02
I say Rashad wins because I always go against him and he always wins. This fight is no exception. I will be pulling for (god this hurts to say) Machida. I am hoping that he is becomming more confident and aggressive and that he will soon be the amazing fighter that I think he can be. But for that reason he will lose because Rashad "I have no class even when compared to guys who have very little class" f'ing Evans will upset me again. Dammit. Is Machida going to be the favorite in this fight? If so i will bet on Evans just to make the sting of him winning hurt a little less.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:04
AWESOME....this will be the BIZ NIZZLE
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:04
Michida wins this one, this is perfect because he will get to fight Rampage next. WAR MACHIDA!!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:04
ALWAYS BET ON BLACK!!!!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:07
"you guys can both fuck up your jaws" that shit had me rollin
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:11
i'm looking forward to this but let's face it; yellow on black crime is not as good a title for a ppv as black on black crime....
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:13
Machida via TKO.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:18
Lyoto by UD
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:18
@kimbo stole my shoes They can call it the UFC Rotten banana fight This is the fight that I wanted to see... I dont care much for Rashad and I think that Lyoto will be the man to take his belt. However as much as I want to see them fight so Lyoto can get his shot. I have a feeling this is going to be a very slow dull fight. Neither guy is very agressive when they fight and are more counter punchers than anything. Still Lyoto is on fire as of late and so has been Rashad. Let Rampage rest up and then come back to be the first in line.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:19
Ok, the Ortiz match, Tito would have lost round 2 and the fight had he not pulled the cage when he was about to get slammed, which allowed him to take Rashad's back. Again, I don't know if he will win, but Rashad has the best chance of anyone to beat Machida; smart with great planning and the ability to stick to a gameplan and take direction, plus power and patience. That being said, I can see round one of the fight being on par with a Kalib Starnes vs. Kalib Starnes match, as Lyoto waits to counter and Rashad has a history of giving up the first round. But damn, I can't wait for everything past round 1.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:24
Lyoto's gonna shock the living fuck out of everyone and knock Rashad out in the first round.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:29
listen up people, Batman is the prophet, he speaks the truth!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:37
Wow, I am thrilled for that matchup. Hope Machida takes the belt. But as much as I hate to say it, because I dislike Rashad so much personality-wise, he has become one really fast striker. Machida might be better off by keeping his hands up only this time.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:45
Guys, Machida is gonna win this. Remember, he now has physical education in his camp!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:48
SOMEBODY PLEASE END "Sugar we're going down swingin" Rashad Evans overrated carreer!!!!!!!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:49
REMATCH!!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:55
Does anyone know if StrikeForce has a website?
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:55
Frank Mur, you think Evans' career is overrated? You're a moron, it's way underrated and Evans has improved in every fight so much that it's scary. He'll be the champion for a long time coming.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:56
I was hoping to see Rashad keep the belt a little longer. Hopefully they still have him fight Jackson.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 01:58
Strike Force Has a website it s at strikeforce dot com. Or just type strike force into google.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:03
If I was Rashad I'd cut myself.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:29
First, let me say that I am a huuuuge Machida fan and I really don't like Rashad (because of his uber-cocky in-cage antics) HOWEVER, Lyoto better keep his chin down tight for 5 rounds. It gets me so nervous every time I watch him fight because of the way his chin is always straight up in the air... but he's never been ko'd, shit, I can't remember him ever getting hit with a real flush shot... so I guess I have nothign to worry about. Nevermind. I am dumb.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:33
Through the power of the cosmos machida has been granted a title shot due to the ufc's inability to have a main event at 98. Machida will win by knockout again and will at least defend the belt 3 times being remembered as the greatest light heavyweight of this generation.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:37
Lyoto will expose this imposter (evans). If only the entire jackson camp could get in the ring with rashad to help.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:40
I'm going to play a drinking game for this fight. Every time someone lands a strike, I'll take a drink. I might end up finishing off a whole beer.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:44
Ryu-I mean-Lyoto wins via world shocking knockout.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 02:54
It's gonna be rough for the UFC when the LHW champ doesn't speak english.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 03:04
YEESSS for this fight happening
Wed, 03/11/09 - 03:09
This is good news. Way to soon for Rampage to accept a title shot with Rashad. The fights are just simply to close together. I think Lyoto Machida is gonna give Evans some problems and you know when Evans heard he was gonna fight Machida instead of Rampage he had to of been thinking "fuck....alright". Evans wants to capitalize on a weirded out not quit back to his old self Rampage Jackson. If Evans can keep his belt against Lyoto than he can talk all the shit twords Rampage he wants cuse by then Rampage will have had his time off to rest, heal and train. No excuses at that point.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 03:11
@ Anonymous "I'm going to play a drinking game for this fight. Every time someone lands a strike, I'll take a drink. I might end up finishing off a whole beer." But that one or two sips are gonna have to be big ass gulps cuse any of those punches landing wont be peppered shots
Wed, 03/11/09 - 04:01
Wasn't that video part of Dana's blog?
Wed, 03/11/09 - 04:20
holy shit, this is gonna be awesome. it think it'll come down to speed and technique. I give evans the edge in speed an machida the edge in technique. damn this is gonna be good!
Wed, 03/11/09 - 04:57
"I'm going to play a drinking game for this fight. Every time someone lands a strike, I'll take a drink. I might end up finishing off a whole beer." Hmm maybe if you're lucky. You might have to take shots of liquor instead just to catch a buzz. They are both very good technical fighters, but it's gonna be a snoozefest.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 07:03
Man I can't wait for this fight... as much I like Rampage, I wanted to see Machida fight both Rashad and Rampage, and this way it's possible he could get 5 round fights with both.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 07:43
Wiffa Cheeto Says: Wed, 03/11/2009 - 14:54 It's gonna be rough for the UFC when the LHW champ doesn't speak english. It doesn't seem to affect their middleweight champion...
Wed, 03/11/09 - 08:34
Machida and Evans have the lowest attacks absorbed per round rating in the LHW UFC. Machida better not let it go to the ground. Evans is clearly the stronger wrestler. Evans would have to be stupid not to watch a few tapes of how Machida fights. I hope Evans can out wait Machida (though this will be boring). If Evans comes after Machida he might just pull a Thiago Silva.
Wed, 03/11/09 - 08:48
Evans better watch out, Machida is.......ELUSIVE.
Thu, 03/12/09 - 05:06
But LHW is the premier weight class, the champ is a big representative for the UFC, Chuck, Rampage, even Rashad all get thrust forwards to become the face of the org. Talk shows, Entourage, bit parts in bad movies, can you see Machida doing that?
Thu, 03/12/09 - 05:08
oops, I was responding to Hammtron...
Thu, 03/12/09 - 05:09
Machida is going to make Evans look like a rookie and will probobly take him to a 5 round decision with Evans running after him more and more each round.
Thu, 03/12/09 - 08:37
Who the hell doesn't like Rashad's personality? Y'all are too white.
Thu, 03/12/09 - 09:32
tell them to step to kelly pavlik or bernard hopkins prime roy was soft damn fast with his hands he just knock them out before they could think about taking them to the ground
Thu, 03/12/09 - 11:19
I'm not paying $50 to watch Machida... especially as a main event.
Sat, 03/14/09 - 05:02
Machida is great, but i have a chilling feeling that Sugar is powerful enough, quick enough and skilled enough to beat Lyoto. Rashad Evans in three...!!!!
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