Following a rash of injuries and illness that repeatedly left the UFC shuffling the deck to end 2009 and start 2010, the return of many of those fighters has left the mixed martial arts juggernaut with an abundance of headliners.
With so many marquee bouts coming together, the UFC is moving the Rashad Evans vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson grudge match from its May 1 Montreal card to the as yet unannounced Memorial weekend event on May 29.
UFC president Dana White hinted at the move in a text message to veteran reporter Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday morning, saying the bout would likely take place in Las Vegas. MMAWeekly.com sources on Wednesday confirmed the move, indicating that Evans is preparing to face Jackson with May 29 as the target date.
The feud between the two began with an in Octagon war of words following Jackson’s unanimous decision victory over Evans’ training partner, Keith Jardine, last March.
The two then served as coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter with a showdown scheduled for UFC 107 in Memphis. The bout never materialized due to Jackson withdrawing to take on the role of B.A. Baracus in the recent feature film remake of popular 1980s television series “The A-Team.”
Their friction on the reality series added more fuel to the fire.
Jackson then fell into a very public feud with White. He even went so far as posting on his website in autumn that he was retiring from fighting, saying, “I felt like I was very loyal to (the UFC), but they didn't respect my loyalty.”
He shifted gears yet again in December, writing on his website, “I wanted to let my fans know that I'm going to come back to the UFC and finish my contract.”
Following Evans’ win over Thiago Silva on Jan. 2 at UFC 108, White quickly put the fight together as the co-main event to the Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua rematch at UFC 113 in Montreal. The recent addition of Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley in a welterweight contenders bout at the Bell Centre on May 1, however, made it possible to move the Evans vs. Jackson bout to UFC 114 in Las Vegas.
It is unclear whether the bout will be the headliner.
The May 29 event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Sin City will also mark the promotion’s second edition of its UFC Fan Expo, which was an unabashed success last July surrounding UFC 100.
With so many marquee bouts coming together, the UFC is moving the Rashad Evans vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson grudge match from its May 1 Montreal card to the as yet unannounced Memorial weekend event on May 29.
UFC president Dana White hinted at the move in a text message to veteran reporter Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday morning, saying the bout would likely take place in Las Vegas. MMAWeekly.com sources on Wednesday confirmed the move, indicating that Evans is preparing to face Jackson with May 29 as the target date.
The feud between the two began with an in Octagon war of words following Jackson’s unanimous decision victory over Evans’ training partner, Keith Jardine, last March.
The two then served as coaches on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter with a showdown scheduled for UFC 107 in Memphis. The bout never materialized due to Jackson withdrawing to take on the role of B.A. Baracus in the recent feature film remake of popular 1980s television series “The A-Team.”
Their friction on the reality series added more fuel to the fire.
Jackson then fell into a very public feud with White. He even went so far as posting on his website in autumn that he was retiring from fighting, saying, “I felt like I was very loyal to (the UFC), but they didn't respect my loyalty.”
He shifted gears yet again in December, writing on his website, “I wanted to let my fans know that I'm going to come back to the UFC and finish my contract.”
Following Evans’ win over Thiago Silva on Jan. 2 at UFC 108, White quickly put the fight together as the co-main event to the Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua rematch at UFC 113 in Montreal. The recent addition of Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley in a welterweight contenders bout at the Bell Centre on May 1, however, made it possible to move the Evans vs. Jackson bout to UFC 114 in Las Vegas.
It is unclear whether the bout will be the headliner.
The May 29 event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Sin City will also mark the promotion’s second edition of its UFC Fan Expo, which was an unabashed success last July surrounding UFC 100.
