Rashad Evans

Rampage, Evans Tapped as “TUF 10” Coaches

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Thursday that former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans would serve as opposing coaches on the upcoming tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show.

The show will premiere on Wednesday, September 16 at 10:00 PM ET and will feature a total of 16 heavyweights, who it seems will not be required to fight their way into the house as has been in the case for the past couple of seasons. In addition, the season premiere will be preceded by yet another edition of “UFC Fight Night”.

Production on the show is set to begin in early June.

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So Who Exactly Are the “TUF 10” Coaches?

UFC President Dana White will make one of his patented “special announcements” tomorrow night during the Spike TV broadcast of the “2009 VGAs First Look E3 Special” at 11 PM ET, and all signs point to it being the naming of the coaches for the upcoming tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

So who exactly will the coaches be? That’s actually a pretty good question at the moment.

According to Fighters Only Magazine, former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans, who quickly created bad blood between one another immediately following Jackson’s decision win over Keith Jardine in March, will serve as the newest set of coaches. However, Jackson was set to receive the next shot at Lyoto Machida, who defeated Evans for the belt this past weekend.

Here comes the confusing part…

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Evans and Jackson Clash at UFC Photo Shoot

There are no secrets about the dislike that Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have for each other. When the two came face-to-face for a staredown (video of the meeting is here) to hype up a once-scheduled light heavyweight title bout in May following Jackson’s unanimous decision win over Evans’ training partner, Keith Jardine, at UFC 96, the two exchanged heated words.

So when the UFC unknowingly booked both fighters for a recent photo shoot, things quickly escalated once Jackson saw Evans in the same room as him. From MMA Weekly’s “MMA Insider” blog:

While UFC light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans might be focused on challenger Lyoto Machida, by no means has he forgotten about Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. He says the two nearly came to blows at a recent UFC photo shoot. Some intrepid UFC staffers booked them on the same day, and things got ugly for a spell.

“I looked at him and he walked out of the room,” Evans told MMAInsider. “He was like, ‘that’s messed up putting us together.’ They tried to separate us, and the UFC walked him out in the hallway and walked me out in the hallway. And they walked me into the same hallway he was at.

“I looked at him and I was like, what, man? He was like, ‘Rashad don’t talk to me, man! Don’t talk to me! Don’t say nothin’ to me! You don’t know me! You don’t know me!’ The (expletive) I need to know you for?”

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and the photo shoot went on. But Evans filed it in the motivation bank for later.

People are still talking about their meeting at UFC 96 to this day, mostly for the intense excitement created and the words that were said. Now that Jackson will likely be fighting the winner of Evans’ title defense against Lyoto Machida later this year, the stage could be set for one of the most-anticipated (and most trash-talked filled) fights of the year. That is, if Evans come away victorious. The chance that Machida could abruptly end his title reign is more than real.

UFC Rep Denies Jackson/Evans Report for UFC 96

It seems that newly-crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans may not be making his first title defense against former title holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 96 in March after all.

A UFC representative denied reports issued yesterday that the fight would serve as UFC 96’s main event last night on The Underground Forum, stating that the report was “not true”.

The event still remains without a high-profile fight. A heavyweight bout between former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga and Shane Carwin is currently listed at the top of the card’s lineup, but doesn’t seem to hold that much drawing power at all.

Afternoon Notes: Silva Fires Back at CSAC, EliteXC Show Being Planned & More

- Former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio Silva has filed a civil action suit against the California State Athletic Commission in an attempt to try to fight his suspension stemming from a positive steroids test last year. According to Sherdog.com, Silva is looking for a ruling that will temporarily release him from his suspension and potentially grant him another hearing with CSAC officials.

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ESPN MMA Live’s Recap of UFC 92

From ESPN, here’s this week’s installment of MMA Live with Jon Anik, Franklin McNeil, and Kenny Florian.  Also joining the crew are newly crowned UFC champions, Frank Mir and Rashad Evans.

Jackson, Silva Set for Different Paths in UFC’s Light Heavyweight Division

A fourth fight between longtime rivals Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva will likely not be taking place anytime soon after Jackson avenged two prior losses against Silva by knocking out the former PRIDE middleweight title holder in one of the featured bouts at Saturday night’s UFC 92 event in Las Vegas.

UFC President Dana White shed some light concerning future fights for the two veterans at the post-fight press conference for UFC 92. According to White, Jackson could end up being the challenger in Rashad Evans’ first light heavyweight title defense at some point next year.

Jackson however, seems to be more interested in a rematch with Forrest Griffin, who defeated Jackson via an unanimous, albeit somewhat controversial, decision following their stints as opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show in July.

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Evans, Mir Steal Belts at UFC 92

Rashad Evans scored a third-round stoppage of fellow “Ultimate Fighter” winner Forrest Griffin to claim the UFC light heavyweight title while Frank Mir put on the best performance of his career in defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to recapture a piece of the UFC heavyweight belt that he once owned at UFC 92.

Evans came into his showdown with Griffin as an extremely slight underdog and the first two rounds of the bout were just as close. Both fighters connected with a mix of punches and kicks with great frequency, but Griffin likely escaped the first ten minutes with an edge on the judge’s scorecards.

A combination of a slip and a grazing right hand from Evans caused Griffin to fall to the canvas at the start of the third round. Evans, a former collegiate wrestler at Michigan State University, pounced on Griffin and landed some punches until the champion was able to tighten things up on the ground.

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UFC 92: Quick Results

Two championships changed hands Saturday night in Las Vegas as Rashad Evans and Frank Mir each scored impressive stoppages over Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira respectively in the two featured bouts at the UFC’s annual year-end show. A full recap of the event will be posted shortly.

Complete results from the fight card:

Patrick Barry def. Dan Evensen - TKO (Leg Kicks)
Brad Blackburn def. Ryo Chonan - Unanimous Decision
Matt Hamill def. Reese Andy - TKO (Strikes)
Antoni Hardonk def. Mike Wessel - TKO (Strikes)
Yushin Okami def. Dean Lister - Unanimous Decision
Cheick Kongo def. Mustapha al Turk - TKO (Strikes)
Quinton Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva - KO (Punch)
CB Dollaway def. Mike Massenzio - TKO (Strikes)
Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - TKO (Strikes)
Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin - Submission (Strikes)

Three Fights Made Official for “The Ultimate 2008”

LAS VEGAS, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization is proud to announce three classic bouts on the historic final card of the year – UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 27, 2008. The stacked fight card will be headlined by UFC light heavyweight champion and the original Ultimate Fighter Forrest Griffin as he defends his belt against The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 heavyweight winner Rashad Evans, who is fresh off a devastating knockout win over former UFC champion Chuck Liddell.

“We are ending 2008 with a fight card like no other,” said UFC President Dana White. “One for every fight fan out there.”

Not one, but two titles are on the line on December 27th as former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir continues his pursuit to regain the belt when he meets Interim UFC Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in a showdown between the two coaches of this season’s edition of The Ultimate Fighter. Also on tap is a grudge match between two former champions, as MMA legend Wanderlei Silva takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

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