Forty-eight hours after Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz’s dramatic — and somewhat disappointing — draw at Saturday’s UFC 73 event, UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com) has learned that their rematch will take Oct. 20 at the UFC 77 event that’s set for Cincinnati, Ohio.
Earlier today, UFCjunkie.com confirmed the date with a representative from Evans’ camp.
Despite two title fights and the Octagon debut of a former PRIDE heavyweight champion, it was Ortiz (15-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) and Evans (10-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) who remained the focus of this past weekend’s pay-per-view event. The former UFC light heavyweight champion and his undefeated opponent stole the headlines, secured top billing in the event’s marketing materials, and even became the focus of the night’s post-event press conference.
During that media event, UFC president Dana White stated — rather definitively — that a rematch was imminent and that neither fighter would be booked for another event before the rematch takes place.
As it turns out, the UFC wasted no time scheduling the date. UFC 77 takes place Oct. 20 at U.S. Bank Arena in downtown Cincinnati. The arena can accommodate approximately 17,000 spectators.
Just like this past weekend, Evans vs. Ortiz II may steal some of the spotlight from what is supposed to be UFC 77’s real main event: current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin, who will meet in another anticipated rematch. In October 2006, Silva defeated then-champ Franklin with a first-round TKO to claim the middleweight championship.
Franklin, a former Cincinnati high school math teacher, will look to reclaim his title in front of a hometown crowd
Earlier today, UFCjunkie.com confirmed the date with a representative from Evans’ camp.
Despite two title fights and the Octagon debut of a former PRIDE heavyweight champion, it was Ortiz (15-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) and Evans (10-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) who remained the focus of this past weekend’s pay-per-view event. The former UFC light heavyweight champion and his undefeated opponent stole the headlines, secured top billing in the event’s marketing materials, and even became the focus of the night’s post-event press conference.
During that media event, UFC president Dana White stated — rather definitively — that a rematch was imminent and that neither fighter would be booked for another event before the rematch takes place.
As it turns out, the UFC wasted no time scheduling the date. UFC 77 takes place Oct. 20 at U.S. Bank Arena in downtown Cincinnati. The arena can accommodate approximately 17,000 spectators.
Just like this past weekend, Evans vs. Ortiz II may steal some of the spotlight from what is supposed to be UFC 77’s real main event: current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin, who will meet in another anticipated rematch. In October 2006, Silva defeated then-champ Franklin with a first-round TKO to claim the middleweight championship.
Franklin, a former Cincinnati high school math teacher, will look to reclaim his title in front of a hometown crowd
