A late report from Showdown Joe Ferraro at Sportsnet.ca has the upcoming UFC light-heavyweight title bout between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) and former champ “Suga” Rashad Evans (15-1) taking place on the as-of-yet announced UFC 129 card instead of the UFC 128 card.
Ferraro reports that the UFC 129 event will take place on March 19 at The Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey and will also feature another light-heavyweight bout between Tito Ortiz (15-8-1) vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira (19-4).
There have been some issues with the UFC 128 host city, Abu Dhabi. UFC president Dana White noted last week that the event may not take place in that city or even in the country of the United Arab Emirates. No word has surfaced on the status of the event or even which alternate venues are being looked at.
Rua is coming off what is probably the biggest win of his career having won the UFC title from Lyoto Machida at UFC 113. “Shogun” knocked “The Dragon” out in the first round of the Montreal event last May to earn the title, a KO that earned him the “Knockout of the Night” bonus for the event as well as the 2010 MMA Award for “Knockout of the Year.” After the win Rua had surgery to his knee and has been sidelined for most of the year but will return in March to defend his title.
Evans is looking to regain the title, having lost it to Machida back in May of 2009. Since then he’s gone on to win two straight unanimous decisions over Thiago Silva at UFC 108 and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 114, earning him the #1 contender status. “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ heavyweight tournament winner has racked up a 10-1-1 record with the UFC and won the light-heavyweight title from Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 in December of 2008.