Although former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort is slated to take on Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on September 19, he's already looking forward to a potential showdown with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
"Anderson is a great friend of mine and a big champion but I'm looking for this (fight to happen)," Belfort told OUL Esporte of Brazil. "I cannot comment much on this right now but yeah, I always want to fight the best fighters. Of course it won't be a pleasure (being Silva's friend) but there isn't another way at all in the sport. Kaka and Ronaldinho (Brazilian soccer players) are friends and have faced each other many times. It is part of my work and I need it to afford milk to the children at home."
Belfort hasn't set foot inside an Octagon since he dropped a split decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51 back in February of 2005, however that didn't stop UFC President Dana White from wanting to bring back one of the most talented fighters they have employed.
Silva is fresh off his dominating 3:23 second knockout of former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 in a light heavyweight bout. After that performance, there aren't many jumping at the chance to take on MMA's most efficient striker, however Belfort says that he is down.
"It would be a great honor to fight Anderson," Belfort respectfully stated. "He's one of the best to ever fight and I want to test my skills against the world's best."
Four months after his most recent fight, a loss to Shogun Rua at UFC 97, Chuck Liddell is relaxing and enjoying life. But he's not ready to say he's retired.
In an interview Wednesday with FanHouse, Liddell said that he doesn't know if he'll fight again, and he doesn't know when he'll be ready to retire. Liddell wants to determine the future of his career on his own schedule, and he's only going to decide for sure after he gets back in the gym and tests himself again.
Liddell also talked about connecting with the fans, dealing with a Twitter imposter, and his acting career. The full interview is below.
Michael David Smith: Let's start with the question everyone is asking: Will we see you fight again? Chuck Liddell: I don't know. I don't know what my final decision will be. It's hard for an athlete to quit what he's done his whole life. So I don't know. I'm going to make the right decision for me, and that decision could come in a couple months. But we'll see.
Dana White has made it very clear that he doesn't want you to fight. Do you wish he'd keep that opinion to himself and let you make your own decision? He's an opinionated guy. That's how he is. He says what's on his mind, and that's why I like him: You always know what he's thinking. So that doesn't bother me.
What kind of time frame are you working on? If you decide to fight again when will that be, or if you decide to call it quits when would you officially retire? I've always said I'm going to make that decision in the gym, not in the ring. After some time off I'll get back in the gym, throw some punches and take some punches and see how I feel again, and after that I'll make my decision.
You've lost four of your last five. If you do fight again, what do you think you need to work on to start winning again? Well, some things work and some things don't, and for me, the way I was fighting, I was getting hit too much and taking too much damage. Things were hurting me that didn't used to hurt me. So I think I need to work on my timing and my head movement.
What do you think of Tito Ortiz returning to the UFC? It is what it is. He's coming back and doing what he wants to do.
You've already beaten him twice. Would you like to beat him a third time? Well, I always enjoy beating him up, but I don't see that unless he has a few wins. He'd need to have a win or two for that to make sense.
Dana has said he'd like you to be sort of an ambassador for the sport. Is connecting with fans the kind of thing you want to do more of? Yes, for sure. I love the fans and I love the sport, so anything I can help out with in any way, I'm going to. I'm also doing this Sports Legends Challenge, where there are 25 of us sports legends going to the Bahamas and playing some poker with a bunch of fans.
Another question about connecting with fans: Are you on Twitter? No, I'm not.
Are you aware that there's a fake Chuck Liddell on Twitter with more than 11,000 followers? Yeah, I know, and it's ridiculous. People have called me and asked me about my Twitter, and it's not me. I think I'm going to need to take it over or get it taken down or whatever and have an official one so people know if they see something with my name on it, it's coming from me. That's why I got on MySpace, too. There was some guy on there telling people he was me, people were sending e-mails to him and he was replying like he was me, he was telling people I was going to meet them somewhere, he was telling girls to send him pictures.
You mentioned wanting to connect with the fans. Do you see the value of Twitter in doing that? Yeah, I don't do a lot of that -- I don't like the online chats or post on message boards -- but if I get on Twitter I'll tell fans what I'm doing.
What's up with your acting career? I've got some things coming up. I have some meetings next week talking to people about some roles. It's something I enjoy.
Everyone knows you were in Entourage and you've done some other stuff, but you were a child actor long before you were a fighter, right? Yeah, I was in The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jack Nicholson. That was fun. I think I made like $33 or something. I got to miss a whole day of school, and when you're a little kid, that's cool.
What did you think of UFC 101? I thought it was a good show. B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva winning was what I thought would happen, but it was a good show.
What do you make of Anderson Silva? Could he move up and win the light heavyweight belt that you owned for a couple years? Anderson Silva is a tough guy, man. He's dangerous. He's got heavy hands and he's not afraid to throw them. He's a dangerous opponent for anyone.
Are you still watching a lot of MMA even though you're taking some time off from fighting yourself? Absolutely, I watch all the fights I can.
Are you going to do more training of younger fighters? I'll decide that when I make a final decision about whether I'm fighting again. Lately I've been doing other things and haven't had much time to train guys, but that's something I want to do. I like working with younger fighters.
What do you like about coaching? I like the personal interaction. I like working on the finer points, improving the little things that can make a big difference that the younger fighters don't always know about.
When you look at where the UFC is now compared to where it was when you first started fighting, how much more popular it is and how the sport has grown, do you take a lot of personal pride in that? You were one of the best and most popular fighters and you had a lot to do with its growth. I don't know if I'm the one who gets credit, but I'm proud of where the sport is, and I think it's still going to get bigger. It's a great sport and it's going to get a lot bigger than what it is. Mixed martial arts is great, and it's here to stay.
The UFC has signed a deal with Anchor Bay Entertainment that will see UFC pay-per-view events available for the first time on Blu-Ray.
Previously there were only two UFC releases on Blu-Ray, "UFC: Ultimate Comebacks" and "UFC: Best of 2008". Anchor Bay will also take over First Look Studios' role as the distributor of UFC DVDs. Navarre remains the exclusive DVD distributor for Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" television show.
This Saturday's UFC 100 will be one of the first releases later this year.
"Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the leading distributors of fitness DVDs and has released some of the top independent titles in Hollywood," UFC President Dana White said in a statement. "Working with Anchor Bay, fans can get the most exciting live event in the world on DVD or Blu-Ray, and see the greatest fights ever from UFC."
UFC President Dana White recently made news by announcing that he was working to re-sign former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort and instantly speculation began to run rampant in regards to a possible first opponent for Belfort if the signing comes to fruition.
One name that keeps popping up is no stranger to Belfort as Vitor's lightning quick knockout victory over Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil back in 1998 is among the biggest wins of his career.
According to Silva (picture) in a recent interview with Sensei Sport TV, Belfort was seriously stressing out before his first fight with "The Axe Murderer". If that was the case it would definitely work in Wanderlei's favor if Belfort came into the potential rematch much more relaxed.
"That sequence of punches, I don't know whether that was technique or anxiety," speculated Silva. "Many people told me he was dying of fear to face me so that must have been anxiety (that drove him)."
Both men formerly made their home at 205 pounds before recently making the mutual decision to drop down to middleweight so a potential bout between the two would likely come at 185 pounds. Although Silva knows nothing is set in stone at this time, if the call comes, he'll be ready, as usual.
"Sooner or later (the rematch) is going to happen," said Silva. "I'm ready to face anyone, including him."
UFC President Dana White made a surprising revelation Saturday that he would like to see former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort take on current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
White teased the matchup on the "Inside The Octagon" segment during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale broadcast on Spike TV.
"While Anderson Silva is fighting Forrest Griffin, I'm working on some other 185-pounders," White told host Amir Sadollah. "Vitor Belfort, he is a former heavyweight who moved down to 205. Now he's at 185 pounds, he's got great hands, he's good on the ground and if his head is right he can be a very dangerous guy. I think that would be a great match up."
It's surprising White would even bring up Belfort's name since the Brazilian is currently signed to fight Jorge Santiago at Affliction: Trilogy on August 1. Does White have something under his sleeve? Or will there simply be a massive bidding war between the UFC and Affliction after Belfort's fight on August 1?
A press conference was held yesterday in Tokyo by World Victory Road to announce the signing of 2008 Olympic gold medalist in Judo Satoshi Ishii for the promotion. Previously signing with the UFC is reported to have no impact on Ishii's negotiations with WVR to appear in their Sengoku events.
The 22-year-old judoka had been sought out by the other major mixed martial arts promotion in Japan, DREAM as well as the UFC.
Ishii accepted an invitation from the UFC last December to meet UFC President Dana White and experience UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. White said Ishii has the potential to become a great MMA fighter.
Ishii appeared at first willing to put aside his celebrity in Japan to compete in the UFC. But by signing with World Victory Road, Ishii picks the safest and richest choice to begin his MMA career.
It was previously reported on several sources that Ishii was set to appear on the tenth season of the popular Spike television series, The Ultimate Fighter. Ishii's Facebook page appeared to confirm that rumor yet now, this signing may not allow the Japanese fighter to do both. It is important to note that he has a clause in his new 2-year contract allowing him to fight for other promotions outside of Japan and Ishii has previously indicated a desire to fight in the UFC late last year.
"I have finally made up my mind," Ishii told Nikkan Sports in December. "The UFC is where I want to fight."
Time will tell where he really makes his MMA debut. WVR Director Takahiro Kokuho believes Ishii's first fight for the promotion can come as early as August 2 and as late as the New Year's Eve event at the end of the year.
In any case, for WVR and Japanese MMA in general, this signing might mark a significant turning point in their campaign to get back on network television. With WVR and DREAM alike staging strong events, fans may see a resurgence of MMA in the once PRIDE-dominated country.
Since leaving Judo with his eyes set on MMA, Ishii has been traveling around putting in mat time with current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, the American Top Team and Xtreme Couture.
As expected, at the UFC 98 post-event press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida's first title defense will be against former champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (picture). While White didn't announce the date for the title defense, if recent rumors of Rampage and Machida coaching season ten of The Ultimate Fighter are true, then the fight would take place in late December.
Both Machida and Jackson were fighting for the World Fighting Alliance when Zuffa bought the company out in December 2006.
"We bought the WFA to acquire his contract and Rampage's," White noted at the press conference. "I've always thought this kid (Machida) was talented."
"I was blown away by his performance tonight," White continued. "Absolutely blown away."
The UFC, in conjunction with Tequila Cazadores, awarded former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin the first ever UFC Authentic Spirit Award. Tequila Cazadores is the official spirit sponsor of the UFC.
The award will be given to a UFC fighter monthly who exemplifies social responsibility, dedication to their art of mixed martial arts and good sportsmanship.
Griffin was announced as the recipient by UFC President Dana White at a media event held by the UFC, Tequila Cazadores and THQ at Tabu in the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.
Griffin was given the award for his work with the Wounded Warriors Project. The Wounded Warrior Project is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.
Griffin actively enlists his time and energy to raise awareness for the needs of severely injured servicemen and women and supports them on the road to healing both physically and mentally.
For winning the award, Tequila Cazadores will make a $1,000 donation in Forrest Griffin's name to the Wounded Warrior Project. Each month, Tequila Cazadores will award a fighter with the UFC Authentic Spirit Award, culminating with a larger award given to the fighter that best exemplifies all the parameters through the course of the year.
A $10,000 charitable contribution will be presented to the winner with full proceeds benefiting the fighter's charity of choice.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture knows what Chuck Liddell is currently going through. He knows what it feels like to have the UFC push him into retirement. The only difference is that Couture was never as close to UFC President Dana White as Liddell is and that really is the problem according to Couture.
"It's like, 'you're not going to fight for the UFC again, because we don't want to see you do this anymore.' That sucks." Couture said.
The talk is about Liddell's age and declining ability but Couture attributes Liddell's recent losses to something else. "He's got that kind of style anyway, that's the fighter he's always been. We're just used to seeing him on the other side of it – landing the shot instead of taking the shot."
Couture does hope that its ultimately Liddell's decision at the end but that people he's spoken to who are close to the Liddell situation told him, "I know he's struggling with the decision, he's being pressured, and he's not sure that's what he wants to do."
In a follow-up to the story about UFC President Dana White nixing a proposed fight between current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. (picture), despite both fighters wanting the bout, GracieFighter.com is reporting that Strikeforce founder Scott Coker would like to match Jones against Nick Diaz. Diaz had challenged Jones to a boxing-rules fight after his victory over Frank Shamrock last month. "We would absolutely set this fight up," Coker reportedly said. "Of course we would have to run it by Showtime for final approval, but I don't see why we wouldn't have this fight."
According to some source, Coker denied making that quote during yesterday's Strikeforce media call, saying "I've had several calls from different people saying, 'Roy Jones vs. Nick Diaz, Roy Jones vs. Cung Le, Roy Jones vs. this guy or that guy, but it's something that we haven't really talked about. I really don't even know how serious it is. But the question is, 'Does he want to fight in MMA? Does he want to fight in just boxing?' These are all things that haven't been fleshed out."
"I did get a call from Nick's manager asking me if I'd be interested in looking at a fight between Roy Jones and Nick. I said, 'Are you talking about boxing? Are you talking about MMA?' He says, 'In MMA.' I said, 'Well, that's something we can definitely have a conversation about. That just happened this morning. That's the extent of it."
Showtime Senior Vice President Ken Hershman was even more poignant, saying that the fight "would be a very long shot of ever happening".
"It has nothing to do with money," Hershman noted. "I think it's an insult to the integrity of mixed martial arts to think Roy Jones, or any professional boxer, could just come in and fight Nick Diaz in a mixed martial arts context. In a boxing context, it's completely different."
"But beyond that, it's not the strategy we're employing. We're looking to build the best mixed martial arts brand. I believe we have the best professional boxing brand on television, and I think our fights month in and month out prove that. I don't see the need to combine the two at the moment."
For the longest time boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. would only agree to fight current UFC Midleweight Champion Anderson Silva under boxing rules. Silva had also said that he'd be willing to box against Jones. But, Jones now is willing to step into the Octagon to make the megafight happen.
CBSSports.com reported on Tuesday that Jones was approached by his manager a few weeks ago and agreed to consider fighting Silva under mixed martial arts rules for the UFC.
But even under those new terms, UFC President Dana White remains against the matchup.
"You won't see a Silva versus Jones fight while Silva is under contract with me," White said to CBSSports.com regarding the fight.
White also proceeded to take jabs at Jones as well saying, "I don't want to say anything bad about Roy Jones, I like Roy Jones and was a fan of his, but he mattered like fifteen years ago. He's not anywhere near the best boxer in the world. He must've spent all his money."
Silva last year confirmed his interest in fighting Jones, and both parties seem intent on making the fight happen in the next few years. Jones was quoted by the LA Times last month saying that he "can't wait for Anderson to get done with his [UFC] contract" so that the two can "get it on".
White acknowledged the fight would be a guaranteed one-shot blockbuster but wants to stay away from any sideshow fights for a developing sport.
"I could do it, make it huge, make money, but I could have done a fight like this when we were bleeding money," White continued. "The fight would make some money, but it hurts MMA in the long term. We don't do that because we love the sport. That's a PRIDE or K-1 matchup. It's not what we do."
If both Silva and Jones want to make this fight happen, Silva is going to have to leave the UFC. With challenges in the light heavyweight division looming, many doubt that Silva would ever leave before his contract is up. By then, Jones may be too old to make the fight happen.
Jones, former boxing's Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion, is one of the bigger boxing names to embrace MMA rather than view it as a threat. Jones in March promoted a hybrid boxing-mixed martial arts card in Pensacola, Florida and he's planning another one in July.
UFC President Dana White (picture) recently reiterated that Chuck Liddell is done as a fighter following Liddell's first round knockout loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97: Redemption this past Saturday. In an interview with InsideFighting.com, White noted that while Liddell may be done as a fighter in the UFC, he will still have a role in the organization.
"Chuck Liddell is stupid rich," White said. "Chuck Liddell is done. He's got nothing left to prove. He's the most famous guy on earth. I love him like a fucking brother and I don't want to see him get hurt. There is no reason for it. He's fucking forty years old man. These guys that are fighting now are young, explosive, fast fucking kids who are well rounded mixed martial artists. There's no fucking reason for Chuck Liddell to be out there at forty years old still fighting. I don't want to make a fucking nickel off that ever. Believe me, it will be a fucking war if he tries not to retire, believe me. I love him. He helped me build this business. We started when he was making five hundred and five hundred. And we had the dream of him becoming a big star and winning the title and making all kinds of money."
"We did it all man," White continued. "We fucking did it all. We did it. We did it. It's fucking over. He's forty years old, it is over. It was amazing that he was able to fight until he was forty. That's what a bad motherfucker he was. He has nothing to prove to anybody, period. It's over. We did everything that we set out to do. It has been an amazing run, it's been fun. We did it together, we stayed loyal to each other the whole time and we did everything that we hoped to do and now its over. He can do it financially. And plus, I'm going to bring him into the organization in some other way and he's still going to make money. He's been loyal to me and I've been loyal to him and that's not going to change now that he's retiring. He'll always be a part of the organization. He'll take on another role, he'll still make money and he'll be with me until the day we die."
The playable demo for "UFC 2009 Undisputed" is now available for download for free through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation Network.
Chuck Liddell and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua are the playable characters in the demo, which features a limited version of the tutorial mode.
"Fans around the world have been clamoring for a great UFC video game for quite some time," said UFC President Dana White. "We are pleased to offer a free sample of UFC 2009 Undisputed featuring two great athletes and competitors, Chuck Liddell and 'Shogun' Rua, prior to launch."
The same demo was available earlier this week, but was only for gamers with special pre-order codes.
"UFC 2009 Undisputed" is scheduled to hit stores May 19 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
During Thursday's pre-UFC 97 press conference in Montreal, UFC President Dana White announced plans for the promotion to visit Boston, New York and Toronto by 2010. All three cities do not currently regulate mixed martial arts but a push is on the legalize the sport so the UFC could hold events in each city by next year.
UFC lightweight Kenny Florian and UFC Vice President of Regulation and Governmental Affairs Marc Ratner, among others, were in Massachusetts Thursday to encourage the state to pass legislation that would pave the way for the UFC to hold an event in Boston before year end.
"The panel made a great case for what I think is pretty straightforward," Senator James Timilty, the chairman of the public safety and homeland security committee, was quoted as saying by the Boston Herald. "The sport is exploding in popularity, but it is existing right now unregulated (in Massachusetts). Boxing has been regulated for decades. It's about time that we've made the adjustment."
Provided the sport soon becomes regulated, a UFC event is tentatively scheduled for November 21 at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.
A fight remains to have regulations approved in Ontario and New York, but White was confident at the press conference that the UFC will soon be welcomed in both Toronto and New York, announcing plans to hold events in both cities by early next year.
White also indicated during the press conference that the UFC will soon hold its first ever event in France.
UFC President Dana White said that Chuck Liddell (picture) could be stepping foot inside the Octagon for the last time at UFC 97.
"Yeah, if he loses, he will retire," White stated Thursday on TSN's "Off The Record" in Canada.
That's only White's position though, as Liddell has already said he plans to keep fighting.
White believes the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has already cemented his legacy and has nothing left to prove.
"He's one of my best friends, I love him as a person," said White. "He's accomplished everything there is to accomplish. What else is there for him? The most famous mixed martial artist in the world. Made more money than God, has a ton of money, and was a world champion."
White says Liddell will always be with the UFC but refuses having to witness "The Iceman" revisiting anything resembling the knockout loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 88 last September.
"The bottom line is (that) I don't want to see him get hurt," White said.
On April 1 UFC President Dana White posted a video blog on the UFC's YouTube account called "Dana White Video Blog - Nashville". This is the last part of the video where he becomes power hungry and abusive. He's yelling at hard working female mixed martial arts journalist named Loretta Hunt.
The UFC removed the entire video the very next day on April 2. Since the video has been removed, White has stated publicly that he does not regret what he said to Loretta Hunt. He also refuses to apologize.
During this whole ordeal White has had his back up against the wall and not a single one of his employees, current UFC fighters, or friends are willing to help. True colors are shown when the tables are turned and many people who are associated with White are afraid of him.
Ultimate Fighting Championship has has inked a deal with TQS, a privately-owned French-language television network in Canada, and announced to air UFC events and programming, marking the first time in North American history that live UFC fights will be seen on terrestrial television. TQS has reached an agreement with UFC to present fights traditionally only aired by cable television networks.
"We are pleased to have this deal in place, and look forward to bringing the most exciting live event in the world to TQS viewers," said UFC President Dana White. "UFC is huge in Canada, we have incredible fighters from there, and now fans in Quebec can experience UFC for free on TQS."
Starting Friday, March 27, at 9:00 PM ET, TQS will air over 52 hours of UFC programming in Canadian French language including four live events featuring the greatest athletes in mixed martial arts, as well as episodes of "UFC WiRED" and "UFC Unleashed". The UFC WiRED edition on TQS will be hosted by Rej Laplanche and UFC middleweight fighter Patrick Cote. The series is produced by UFC as well as IDI, the production company headed by Anne-Marie Losique and Marc Trudeau.
The first event will be UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann on same-day tape-delay on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:30 PM ET.
"How do I feel about them trying to counter-program UFC 100?," said UFC President Dana White. "I love it. I fucking love it. I love it. I don't like these guys and I want to see them spend more of their t-shirt money. What they should be worrying about is — they've already seen first hand that nobody gives a shit about Affliction MMA — what they need to starting worrying about is nobody wants to wear their goofy fucking clothes anymore either. The fad is over and they better start saving as much of that t-shirt money as they can."
FiveOuncesOfPain.com recently got in contact with Dana White via text message Sunday afternoon to get his comments about recent reports claiming that Affliction is looking to counter-program UFC 100, which will be one of the most historic cards in UFC history. White responded by voicemail and he was clearly unimpressed with Affliction's plans. Affliction has yet to formally announce the date of its third show but if Affliction does indeed have their third show opposite UFC 100 then they will be facing some very stiff competition as UFC 100 features UFC Welterweight Championship match between reigning champion Georges St Pierre and Thiago Alves and a heavyweight title unification fight between UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
At virtually, every WEC post fight press conference that involved its Welterweight Champion Carlos "Natural Born Killer" Condit celebrating a win, the inevitable questions came from the media in attendance.
"When are you going to go to the UFC?" "How do you think you'd do against the welterweights there?"
The questions will finally be answered on April 1 as the WEC's final 170-pound champion makes his long awaited UFC debut against Martin Kampmann to headline UFC Fight Night 18 on Spike TV.
Condit has been a mainstay in the welterweight rankings for the past two years. After clearing out the WEC's 170-pound weight class, the New Mexico native will look to prove why there is so much hype around him.
UFC President Dana White commented recently in an interview that he is looking forward to Condit's move to the Octagon. He's excited to see what he can do against the best welterweights in the world.
"I think it's exciting, it's interesting," White said. "He's been so dominant over at the WEC in that weight division and it's going to be fun to see him come into the UFC and that's a free fight on Spike. I'm actually excited about that fight, a lot of people are pumped for that."
After winning the WEC title by defeating John Alessio, Condit went on to defend his title three times including wins over Brock Larson, Carlo Prater and Hiromitsu Miura.
Now training at Arizona Combat Sports, Condit looks to make the same impact in the UFC welterweight division. White believes that he could be in title contention very soon.
"Definitely," White responded when asked if Condit could get a title shot in his next few fights. "I think him coming over as the champ, we'll see how he looks in this fight here, and I'm excited about him. Excited to see how he does. He's a good kid and always exciting to watch, too."
First things first, Condit have to face Martin Kampmann at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1 in Nashville, Tennessee.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans believes that Lyoto Machida will be the one standing across from him at UFC 98 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23. Evans was recently on the Sherdog Radio Network where he admitted that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will probably need some time off following his UFC 96 match.
"As I learned, 'Rampage' might need time off," Evans said on Sherdog's "Beatdown" radio show. "It'll probably be Lyoto Machida, but I haven't gotten a confirmation on that."
Coming into this past Saturday Jackson and Machida were both in the running for the title shot and Evans' opponent at UFC 98 would be determined by the result of Jackson vs. Keith Jardine.
Jackson won the unanimous decision over Evans' team mate, but was expecting the title bout to happen at UFC 100 on July 11. Due to Frank Mir's injury, the UFC decided to push Evans' title defense earlier and move Brock Lesnar vs. Mir 2 to the summer, most likely at UFC 100.
"Damn," Jackson said at the post-fight conference, according to Yahoo! Sports. "I'll do anything for Dana (White). I had plans to go on a vacation and find an Asian girl and fly first class, stay in a hut and tell her how I was going to win the light heavyweight title. Now it looks like I have to get my ass back to England to train in two weeks."
A fight for Jackson in May would be his third in five months.
The UFC built the entire UFC 96 PPV telecast around the assumption that a Jackson victory would make official Evans vs. Jackson at UFC 98, but afterwards, UFC President Dana White acknowledged the possibility the fight may not happen.
"We still have to make sure Quinton is 100 percent," White said. "It's not a done deal. Quinton has to go get something checked out, make sure he's 100 percent healthy. If he is, that'll be the fight. If not, it'll be Lyoto Machida."
The Sun UK is reporting that Jackson will be out of the UFC 98 card due to his jaw injury as well as a hand injury he suffered during Saturday night's main event with Jardine.
Even though Machida is going to get his shot at UFC 98, it is expected that the UFC will announce that Jackson will get the winner of the Machida vs. Evans fight.
Although former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort is slated to take on Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on September 19, he's already looking forward to a potential showdown with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
