Fight Network has the story:
After reeling off a unanimous decision against Keith Jardine at UFC 96, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's status as the next challenger to Rashad Evans' UFC light heavyweight title is in jeopardy.
Jackson has reportedly sustained injuries to his hand and jaw.
The light heavyweight title bout, originally reported on the UFC 96 broadcast last Saturday, was set to replace Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar.
The heavyweight title unification match-up between Mir and Lesnar has been postponed until UFC 100 after Mir suffered a knee injury and announced that he needed more time in order to be at 100 per cent for the rematch. Mir, who holds the accolade of being the only man to defeat Lesnar, underwent knee surgery on Thursday and will look to repeat history when the two clash at UFC's 100th show.
Plans to have the bout between Jackson and Evans at UFC 98 seemed set in stone as the title affair was heavily hyped throughout the UFC 96 telecast. After "Rampage" had defeated Evans' training partner Jardine in the main event, the Jackson-Evans tease was capped by a heated staredown.
"There's going to be some more black on black crime," said Jackson after the staredown before dropping the microphone and storming out of the octagon.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White denied that the two men were confirmed to face off at UFC 98.
The 205-pound tilt is now unlikely to happen on the May 23 card.
Although Jackson was not on the receiving end of a medical suspension from the Ohio Athletic Commission in the aftermath of UFC 96, he injured his hand in the bout against Jardine and is also scheduled to have an injured jaw checked out this week.
As of right now, UFC.com lists Evans' opponent as TBA.
In all likelihood, unbeaten Brazilian Lyoto Machida will step up to face Evans at UFC 98 for the title with the winner facing "Rampage" at a later date.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Rampage Out, Machida In?
UFC 96 Analysis
Follow the jump to see a little analysis I worked up for dreamfighters.com:
Winners:
Production values. The UFC unleashed some new graphics for their 96th numbered card, including slick fighter names presented while Rogan and Goldberg talked us through the match up. A new ring clock made its debut as well. The UFC is quickly approaching the larger cable networks in terms of its presentation.
Matt Hamill. His striking has improved steadily ever since his ugly loss to Rich Franklin. Tonight was no exception as Hamill continued his win streak in front of his home state with an unbelievable head kick KO of Mark Munoz. At the end of his post-fight interview, Matt exclaimed, “Hamill is back!” With a performance like tonight, it’s hard to argue.
Matt Brown. Where the hell did this come from? Just 3-4 in his last 7 fights, Matt Brown went off tonight, destroying Pete Sell in one round. He worked with the precision of Anderson Silva and the passion of Rashad Evans in this display of mixed martial arts expertise.
Shane Carwin. In his first main card bout, Carwin put an exclamation point on all of the praise he’s been receiving over the past few months. With a huge KO of Gabriel Gonzaga, Carwin proved that he can hang with the big guys. He’s probably a top 5 UFC heavyweight after this impressive performance.
Columbus, Ohio. They enjoyed 3 of 5 main card fights ending in a knockout in addition to one of the best main events so far this year. They were also knowledgeable and respectful of the sport and its fighters.
Jackson-Jardine post fight speech. Following the fight, Joe Rogan held the mic to Evans and Jackson, who engaged in the longest post fight trash talk session I’ve ever seen. It ended with Jackson proclaiming “you’re gonna see some black on black crime!”
Losers:
Mike Goldberg. Is anyone surprised to find Goldy here? During Maynard’s introduction, Goldberg initiated a bizarre tangent regarding his high school football days. Rogan quipped, “Live through those memories!” to which Goldberg excitedly answered “Got to!”
Logos in the octagon. I saw fighters slip on the logos, especially the center Bud Light one, on numerous occasions. These logos detract from the fighting by becoming an actual element in the bout. Some fighters (see: Patrick Cote, ACL) have said that they can cause injury as well. The UFC needs to think about how their advertising affects the quality of their product.
Yves Lavigne. During the Brown-Sell fight, Lavigne touched the fighters but didn’t stop the fight. That’s a no-no.
Gabriel Gonzaga. “Napao” has lost three of five and appears to only be capable of beating lesser-known fighters. When it comes to legitimate guys (Couture, Werdum, Carwin), Gonzaga crumbles.
Rashad Evans. The new light heavyweight champion would have enjoyed a stylistic advantage against Lyoto Machida. Instead, he’s drawn Quinton Jackson, who is a larger, stronger version of Evans. “Sugar” will need to heavily rely on his wrestling if he wants to hang with Jackson in May.
Monday, March 9, 2009
UFC 96 Results
Shane Nelson beat Aaron Riley by first-round TKO (strikes)
Brandon Vera beat Mike Patt by second-round TKO (leg kicks)
Jason Brilz beat Tim Boetsch by unanimous decision
Kendall Grove beat Jason Day by first-round TKO (strikes)
Tamdan McCrory beat Ryan Madigan by first-round TKO (strikes)
Gray Maynard beat Jim Miller by unanimous decision
Matt Hamill beat Mark Munoz by first-round KO (head kick)
Matt Brown beat Pete Sell by first-round TKO
Shane Carwin beat Gabriel Gonzaga by first-round KO (punch)
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson beat Keith Jardine by unanimous decision
