Although nothing was announced on Saturday night after UFC 113 in Montreal, UFC President Dana White confirmed today that the winner of the upcoming fight at UFC 114 between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans will face the new light-heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
White confirmed the news to the Carmichael Dave Show on Sports 1140 in Sacramento.
“The winner of the Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans fight will get the first shot at Shogun,” White said via text message to Carmichael Dave.
Rua won the title Saturday night at UFC 113 over former champion Lyoto Machida. Rua lost a close decision to Machida in October, but he took little time in avenging the loss on Saturday. Rua caught Machida with a shot to the temple which dropped the former champion. Rua pounced quickly and finished the fight within seconds to become the new standard-bearer of the 205-pound division.
Prior to the fight on Saturday, new had surfaced that Randy Couture could face the winner of the Rua/Machida fight. Couture made his intentions known that he’d like to fight the winner of the fight within the next six months, despite having a scheduled fight with James Toney at UFC 118 in Boston. Now Couture will have to wait and perhaps fight another fight in preparation for a possible title shot against whomever the champion may be at the time.
Jackson and Evans have been feuding since coaching opposing teams on The Ultimate Fighter 10 reality show. Bad blood surfaced quickly, and the two fighters will get to settle the score at UFC 114 at the end of the month. The two didn’t need any more motivation to add to their bout, but becoming the new number one contender will only add to the intrigue.
