Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans remains extremely confident he will square off with fellow FUEL TV analyst Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 on November 16.
In an appearance on Alchemist Radio, “Suga” said the pivotal light heavyweight matchup is “definitely something the UFC wants.”
“That fight is going to happen,” Evans said. “ … We’re still talking about it, but it’s definitely something the UFC wants. It’s something that we want to do well. If it does happen, it will happen on November 16th. Hopefully it’ll be in the co-main event slot. I definitely think its co-main event worthy, honestly speaking no matter where it falls, it’s not about ego for me, and it’s going to be a fight the people want to see. That’s the most important thing. There are things sometimes where a lot of people get caught up in ego and their fight has to be main event, but it really doesn’t matter to me.”
“The American Gangster” issued a friendly challenge to Evans last week on Twitter, which the 33-year-old promptly accepted.
Evans, the co-founder of the Blackzilians training camp, located in Boca Raton, Florida, has won five of his past seven bouts, most recently defeating ex-Pride and Strikeforce titleholder Dan Henderson at UFC 161 in June.
Prior to that victory, Evans had dropped back-to-back decisions to divisional champ Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Sonnen is riding high following a submission win over a former Pride and UFC champion in Mauricio Rua, tapping the Brazilian brawler with a guillotine choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 26 encounter last month.
The Reign Training Center fighter is just 3-3 in his past six matchups, though he has an impressive 8-1 mark in his past nine non-title bouts.
UFC 167, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, is headlined by a welterweight title clash between Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks and currently does not have a co-headline fight booked.
UPDATE: 4:10 P.M. Eastern Time
MMA Fighting’s Dave Doyle reports that Sonnen vs. Evans is official for UFC 167.
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com