Hopes for the eagerly anticipated match between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his former teammate and friend turned foe, Rashad Evans, have been dashed.
Today Dana White made the shocking announcement for the main event of UFC 140 in Toronto—Evans is out, Machida is in.
Rashad previously lost his first opportunity to meet Jones at UFC 133 in August of this year, when Jones dropped out due to a lingering hand injury.
Evans then fought replacement Tito Ortiz at UFC 133 and won via TKO in the second round. With the victory Evans was once again next in line for a shot at Jones and the title.
Timing and injury conspired against Evans. Nursing a broken hand, Evans recently had pins removed and was cleared to start training in three weeks.
The UFC needed a big name marquee event for the Toronto event on December 10, and it was ruled that Evans would not have sufficient time to prepare. Lyoto “Anderson Money” Machida has been given the slot.
Machida won the UFC light heavyweight crown from Evans via KO at UFC 98 on May 23 2009, before losing it to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua a year later.
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