Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Rashad Evans Set for UFC 129 in NJ

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Since his defeat of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Rashad Evans has been waiting to hear from the UFC when he would get the call for another shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Late Tuesday, Sherdog confirmed (after the matchup was reported by Sportsnet.ca) that Evans will face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the organization’s 205 lb. crown March 19th at UFC 129. The event hasn’t been confirmed but is rumored to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Also rumored in the Sportsnet report is a light heavyweight confrontation between Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira although that matchup hasn’t yet been confirmed for the card.

Since his UFC Light Heavyweight championship loss to Lyoto Machida in 2009, Evans has won two consecutive fights in the Octagon, beating Thiago Silva and the previously mentioned Jackson, both this year. The latter of which was a number one contender fight for the title now held by Rua.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has been on the sidelines since he won the title from Machida last May at UFC 113 while he addressed knee problems that have plagued the fighter for years. The bout with Evans will be not only his first title defense, it will be his first fight in ten months.

An Inside Pulse "original", SMS is one of the founding members of Inside Pulse and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer on the Executive Board. Smith is a fan of mixed martial arts and runs two sections of IP as Editor in Chief, RadioExile.com and InsideFights.com. Having covered music festivals around the world as well as conducting interviews with top-class professional wrestlers and musicians, he switched gears from music coverage at Radio Exile to MMA after the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale. He resides with his wife in New York City.