TUF 10 to Feature Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans as Coaches

Posted May 28, 2009 4:15PM By Mike Chiappetta (RSS feed)

Filed Under: UFC

After weeks of speculation, the UFC announced Thursday that Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would be opposing coaches on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Production of the show is expected to start in the first week of June.

Interestingly, the original press release announcing the decision made no mention of whether Jackson and Evans would square off at the conclusion of the show as has been the custom in the last several seasons. The omission was apparently accidental, as during a conference call, Jackson confirmed that he was given his choice and picked Evans.

"They told me I could fight whoever and I had my mind set I would fight Evans," Jackson said, adding that he was rooting for Evans last weekend in hopes of fighting him for the title.

Evans and Jackson were previously expected to meet after Jackson defeated Evans' teammate Keith Jardine at UFC 96. In fact, the two went nose-to-nose in the middle of the octagon in the moments after Jackson's win in an effort to build the hype. But because of scheduling issues, Lyoto Machida was moved ahead in the pecking order and got a crack at Evans at last Saturday's UFC 98. As we know, Machida knocked out Evans, handing him his first loss.

But Evans will go right back into the deep end of the pool against the former champ Jackson. The two will be coaching heavyweights during their season on TUF.

"Rashad's ass is grass and I'm the lawnmower," Jackson said. "He's gonna get his ass whooped no matter what."

Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White is working on Machida's first title defense, and hopes to have a fight announcement in the next few days. All signs point to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, as nearly every other top light-heavyweight or possible contender has a scheduled fight in the next few months, including Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Randy Couture, and of course, Evans and Jackson.

Rua, meanwhile, is coming off a first-round knockout of Chuck Liddell and has an open schedule. In addition, he recently was in Las Vegas meeting with White.

Either way, we should know soon. When asked who Machida would fight, White said, "We're working on it right now. I don't like to announce anything until it's signed, so as soon as it's signed I'll announce it. Which I hope will be today or tomorrow."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-28-2009 @ 4:44PM

o0soul said...

Wow, I'm shocked. I wasn't expecting such a bitch move from Rampage. He must be REALLY confident that he will beat Evans and still get a title shot afterwards. Still, it smells like he is just ducking Machida in hopes that he won't end up laid out like Evans was. I'm not even sure who to give the advantage to here. Evans didn't look so hot against Machida but he sure as hell looked better against Griffin than Page did.

5-28-2009 @ 5:12PM

richardbikle said...

zeroZERO soul, When did Rampage become in charge of UFC match making? Enlighten us. Especially on the part of why Rampage wouldn't want a title shot, the guy never ducked anybody.

Rampage is the better fighter. It sure was good to see Evans layed out. Glad we didn't have to put up with Evan's flamboyant BS anymore.

5-29-2009 @ 3:41AM

claytor said...

Lol, apparently you didnt see the post fight incident between Jackson and Evans after Rampages fight against Jardine.

This is a grudge match, pure and simple.

Rua will make an excellent opponent for Machida, he really (finally!) looks to be healthy again, and thats a great thing for the sport. Shogun is fun to watch, multi faceted, and very sportsmanlike. Good times!

5-29-2009 @ 10:27AM

No, I saw it Clay. It's one of the reason's I can't stand Evans. MMA deserves better than him, Martial Arts are built on respect. Evans seems more of the WWE type.
I too think Rua, especially since he looked like the Shogun of old, is the guy to beat Machida. I think Shogun wins this fight, and I really don't see anyone else taking Machida out.
I don't see Rampage beating Machida, but I'll take him over Evans.

5-28-2009 @ 8:02PM

retrojoke said...

Alot of friends and fans of Machida backstage were also hanging out with Rashad. Many of Machida's fans respect Rashad and you could hear it from the cheers for Rashad after the fight.

Some people are disconnected form the social pipeline and only have stupid things to say about fighters.

5-29-2009 @ 1:37AM

kwilbur10 said...

guys in one of his interviews after announcing his decision, he said that it was about the money. he would make more doing the TUF show than just fighting Machida. its not like machida is going anywhere. so rampage just wants to settle a score with rashad while making more money, then go fight machida. so you can say whatever you want, but i think money speaks louder than having that belt. plus it will be a better fight between Rua and Machida so its a win win for all of the MMA fans. so everyone chill out and enjoy rashad vs rampage and machida vs Rua.

5-29-2009 @ 10:31AM

My guess is that he is going to go along with what the UFC wants; they're pretty egomanical and want everryone in line. Look what they did to Tito when he wanted to get fairly paid for fighting.
I would think theres more money to be made being a champion than TUF coach, if it's about money.

5-29-2009 @ 1:33PM

nah buddy. spike tv is also paying for the TUF show and they wanted Rampage to coach again. So he is getting paid by spike tv, UFC, and his sponsors. if he just took the fight with machida it would be just the UFC and sponsors. So more money to be had in the Coaching biz for him.

5-29-2009 @ 5:21PM

that makes sense, i don't have the confidence for UFC to pay the fighters much anyway; they probally do - do better with the Spike income. I'm glad to see Rampage get it, theres a really small window for fighters to actually make money.

5-30-2009 @ 1:46PM

Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) said...

I called this after Rampage was forced to pull out of the Evans fight because of a jaw injury. He put himself on the line and now he gets screwed out of his title shot against Machida. He earned that shot not machida and it's a shame how all of this has turned out. What happens if he gets injured against Evans or if he looses the fight in controversial circumstances?

I think the next guy to fight Machida if it's not Rampage should be Shogun Rua. Then, if Rua wins or looses and if Rampage wins or looses against Evans we could get a rematch of the price fight when Rua devastated Rampage. Anyway, I think Jackson is getting a raw deal from Dana and the UFC all things considered.

6-02-2009 @ 9:33PM

grimslade5 said...

14-0 how did he not earn a title shot?

5-30-2009 @ 1:49PM

nevermind ... ignore my last comment. I misread the article. No one is getting a raw deal because obviously Rampage feels he needs more time to train for Machida.

All apologies.

5-30-2009 @ 11:42PM

lol. its all good man. sometimes i don't know what i am saying either. but i don't want to say rampage is ducking i think he wants/needs more time for machida cause lets face it machida isn't going anywhere. rampage needs to re work his wrestling his boxing is getting in the way of his total arsenal. you know what i mean. and the shogun matchup with machida is a fanboys dream match. can't wait for this fight.

6-03-2009 @ 12:39AM

@richardbikle

Damn man, once again talking out of your a$$. Did you even read the article? Rampage CHOSE to fight Evans instead of Machida. Dana gave him the ability to pick the opposing coach for the next TUF. So much for your brilliant comment "When did Rampage become in charge of UFC match making?" and anyone elses comments about Rampage wanting to do TUF instead of a fight with Machida. He had the chance to have Machida be the opposing teams coach on TUF10 and ducked. I'm just saying he must be REALLY sure that he will beat Evans cause if he loses, there goes his shot. Probably not the smartest move.

And I don't know where your Evans is flamboyant comment comes from. He only learned to start hyping fights after the Ortiz match when Tito started attacking him on radio shows for no reason. And as I recall, I can't name one time where he as bashed an opponent SINCE his conflict with Ortiz. Can you? He didn't talk sht about Bisping, Liddell, Griffin or Machida. Try hating less, you'll feel better.

6-07-2009 @ 3:21PM

psaves said...

All of you are misinformed. Dana announced that Rampage will not be fighting Evans at the end of TUF season 10. He will be fighting Machida. So every body chill He's not ducking anyone.