Current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones (13-1-0) has received an injury which will postpone his first title defense. Jones was expected to take on his now former teammate and former champ "Suga" Rashad Evans (15-1-1) later this year to defend his title in what has become a grudge match. Evans will now take on a new opponent in Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (9-0-0) at the scheduled August 6 at UFC 133.
Evans was originally the one set to take on then champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua after a long layoff waiting for him to recover from knee surgery, but received a knee injury himself that forced him out of the title bout weeks before the scheduled event. With Evans hurt and Jones having just beaten then undefeated Ryan Bader taking little to no damage, news of Evans' injury was announced immediately after the bout and Jones was offered the title shot on the spot. Jones would go on to defeat Rua for the title with a Rnd3 TKO which set the stage for the first teammate vs teammate fight ever for a title in the UFC. Following that event, Evans left his team at Jackson's Submission Fighting feeling betrayed by his now former coach Greg Jackson for taking in Jones. Following his leave, both Jones and Evans went to war through social networking using Twitter to throw insults and claims over the web. This highly anticipated grudge match has now been put on hold with Jones suffering a torn right-hand ligament. With Evans already looking at over a year away from competing, he will now take a fight against another rising young star.
Evans will now be set to take on the undefeated 26yr old rising star Phil Davis. Davis had recently stated that he had intended to take a break from competing to hone his skills for a return later this year, but that seems to have changed. Davis is riding on an undefeated record with the last five being in the UFC with strong performances. A 4x NCAA1 All-American collegiate wrestler, Davis possesses a wrestling pedigree that not many other wrestlers in MMA can compare to that also includes great strength that has helped control his opponents. His biggest win so far was a recent Unanimous Decision over longtime veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs Davis, but it also showed that his lack of striking experience can hinder him. It took some time for Davis to get used to striking against Nogueira and also had difficulty in the beginning getting a takedown. Though Davis revealed after the bout that he came into that bout less than 100%. Many fans have seen Davis rising alongside Jones in a way, and had even expected the two of them to clash before either of them were considered contenders. Now going in to face a veteran like Evans who is also a strong wrestler and far more experienced striker as well as a former champion, Davis will face his toughest competition ever in his professional career. With just over three months till the expected meeting between the two, Davis has plenty to improve on, but has the personality and drive that will ensure a strong effort.
Is Davis being thrown up in competition too fast? Is he ready to take on such a high level competitor? If he beats Evans, should he be declared #1 contender, or should that be another fight away after? It is revealed that should Evans win, he would therefore maintain his #1 contendership status, while a win for Davis would not guarantee the same for him. Though a win for over arguably the #2 or #3 Light Heavyweight in the world would be his biggest win, it would probably serve his career right to no give him the title shot against Jones. With a win over Evans, Davis would probably be one or two more wins away from a shot at the title. Should Davis win, he could take on the winner of Griffin vs Shogun II or Rampage vs Hamill. This new match-up is interesting and could rearrange the field in the 205lb division.
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