Evans Wants 'Rampage' Fight 'No Matter What'
Brian Knapp Dec 6, 2009
LAS VEGAS -- Even with a pivotal bout against Thiago
Silva on the horizon, former UFC light heavyweight champion
Rashad
Evans has not taken his eyes off his arch nemesis.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the man who coached opposite Evans on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, remains a fixture on his radar.
“I’d like to fight him, no matter what [happens against Silva], but
I think I’ve been spending too much energy worrying about what
Rampage is going to do,” Evans said. “That’s one thing I don’t want
to do. I ain’t going to be excited about fighting Rampage until I
sign the contract. Then, I’m still not going to be excited until
I’m at the venue walking down the aisle to the cage.”
The two were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., but Jackson’s decision to moonlight as an actor on the forthcoming “A-Team” movie left Evans at the altar. Jackson, who has engaged in a public war of words with UFC President Dana White in recent months, announced this week through his Web site that he planned to return to the Octagon to fulfill the remainder on his contract.
“What he did is just ridiculous,” Evans said. “Now he wants to come back and fight whoever the winner is between me and Thiago, like he’s the champion or something. I ain’t got time for that. It’s imminent. We have to fight.”
A showdown with the once-beaten Silva will come first, however, when the two light heavyweight contenders lock horns in the UFC 108 headliner on Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I’ve got a very tough fight coming up,” Evans said. “I’m going to have my hands full that night. Thiago looked good his last fight out.”
Evans, who has not competed since his second-round knockout loss to current champion Lyoto Machida in May, will have vengeance in his heart when he steps in the cage next month. Silva, the rugged 27-year-old American Top Team representative, blasted Evans’ teammate, Keith Jardine, in just 95 seconds at UFC 102 in August.
“I’m looking to show him, ‘You got my boy; now, I’m looking to get you,’” Evans said. “It’s very motivating. I remember watching Keith go down and him standing over him and just [acting] like he shot him. Everybody’s going to do what they do after they win a fight, but I didn’t like that too much.”
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the man who coached opposite Evans on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, remains a fixture on his radar.
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The two were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., but Jackson’s decision to moonlight as an actor on the forthcoming “A-Team” movie left Evans at the altar. Jackson, who has engaged in a public war of words with UFC President Dana White in recent months, announced this week through his Web site that he planned to return to the Octagon to fulfill the remainder on his contract.
“What he did is just ridiculous,” Evans said. “Now he wants to come back and fight whoever the winner is between me and Thiago, like he’s the champion or something. I ain’t got time for that. It’s imminent. We have to fight.”
A showdown with the once-beaten Silva will come first, however, when the two light heavyweight contenders lock horns in the UFC 108 headliner on Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I’ve got a very tough fight coming up,” Evans said. “I’m going to have my hands full that night. Thiago looked good his last fight out.”
Evans, who has not competed since his second-round knockout loss to current champion Lyoto Machida in May, will have vengeance in his heart when he steps in the cage next month. Silva, the rugged 27-year-old American Top Team representative, blasted Evans’ teammate, Keith Jardine, in just 95 seconds at UFC 102 in August.
“I’m looking to show him, ‘You got my boy; now, I’m looking to get you,’” Evans said. “It’s very motivating. I remember watching Keith go down and him standing over him and just [acting] like he shot him. Everybody’s going to do what they do after they win a fight, but I didn’t like that too much.”
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