Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans UFC 108

After Quinton “Rampage” Jackson removed himself from his UFC 107 bout to appear as B.A. Baracus in the A-Team remake, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will now be facing off with American Top Team’s Thiago Silva at UFC 108.

It has recently been reported by MMAJunkie.com that both parties have agreed to the bout, which will be the co-main event to a middleweight championship bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

UFC 108 is set to take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on January 2.

Both men will be looking to get back into the title picture following mutual losses to current UFC 205 pound champion, Lyoto Machida.

There will also be a certain degree of the revenge factor in the match-up as Thiago most recently knocked out close friend and training partner to Evans, “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine.

Also expected for the card is a lightweight showdown between Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout.

That answer may have came when Evans sat down for an interview with MMA.Fanhouse.com and revealed that he could face Thiago Silva either sometime in December at UFC 108, or sometime in early-2010.

During the interview, Evans mentioned that Silva glared at him after his victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 102 in August and he interpreted that as a sign that Silva wanted to “take him on.”

If the fight is indeed signed, it would be a battle between two competitors with only one professional loss on their record. The irony in that is, both fighter’s only loss came at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Evans (13-1-1) faced Machida at UFC 98 in May and lost the UFC light heavyweight title after getting knocked out in the second round. Before that loss, Evans had run up an impressive win streak that featured wins over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Michael Bisping.

Silva (14-1) lost to Machida at UFC 94 in January. He was knocked out in the first round with only one second left on the clock. His UFC resume is impressive as well with wins over Jardine, Houston Alexander, and James Irvin among others.

UFC 102 is slated for August 29 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

The UFC has confirmed the bout through a recent updated event post.

Silva was previously expected to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 before Anderson Silva was tapped to fill the Brazilian’s shoes.

Both men will be looking to rebound from a recent loss. Silva was knocked out by current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 in January , while Jardine most recently found himself on the short end of a decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 96 in March.

Yesterday the UFC announced that UFC 102 would be headlined by a heavyweight contest between Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

A full list of the bouts expected for UFC 102 are listed below:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

James Irvin vs. Wilson Gouveia

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham

Griffin revealed the news during Wednesday’s season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. During a “Late Night News Presented by Burger King” commercial insert, Griffin updated fans on his status and revealed that his first bout back since losing the UFC light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 this past September is set to occur vs. the American Top Team standout.

During the interview, Griffin also discussed his broken left hand. While holding the hand out in front of the camera, a noticeable surgical scar could be seen. Griffin indicated that metal pins had been inserted to help the injury heal properly.

Griffin, 16-5, was the light heavyweight winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. One of the organization’s most popular fighters, Griffin has a lifetime record of 7-3 in the Octagon and won the UFC light heavyweight title from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following a unanimous decision victory at UFC 86 this past July.

In addition to Griffin vs. Silva, UFC 101 is expected to be headlined by B.J. Penn defending the UFC light heavyweight title vs. Kenny Florian. Additionally, Amir Sadollah revealed during TUF 9 that he is slated to compete at UFC 101 as well in a welterweight contest.

News of the matchup comes courtesy of a report by MMAjunkie.com, which adds that UFC 101 is tentatively scheduled to take place on August 8 in Portland, Ore.

Verbal committments from both fighters have been received and signed bout agreements are expected to be signed within the next several days.

Both Griffin and Silva are on the rebound with Griffin having lost his UFC light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans this past December at UFC 92 and Silva having lost his undefeated record against Lyoto Machida this past January at UFC 94.

Griffin, 16-5, had won the title from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following a five-round unanimous decision at UFC 86 this past July. The light heavyweight winner from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Griffin is one of the UFC’s signature stars and boasts a lifetime record in the Octagon of 7-3. The 29-year old holds notable victories in his career over Jeremy Horn, Stephan Bonnar, Jeff Monson, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Silva entered UFC 94 with a 13-0 record but sustained the first loss of his professional career after being knocked out by Machida with just one second remaining in round 1. A former member of the Chute Boxe Academy who now trains with American Top Team, Silva has a 4-1 lifetime record in the UFC with wins over Houston Alexander, James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, and Antonio Mendes.

In addition to Griffin vs. Silva, UFC 101 is also expected to feature a clash between former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva had originally be scheduled to fight last month at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England but the bout was canceled after Silva had suffered an injury while training.

UFC officials had attempted to schedule another match for Machida, but his camp was adamant about waiting for an opportunity to compete against Silva.

Macida is 13-0 and has not competed since a three-round unanimous decision victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 84 in May. The victory improved Machida’s record inside of the Octagon to 5-0.

Silva is also 13-0 with his last victory coming at UFC 84 as well. Facing Antonio Mendes, Silva recorded a first round TKO due to punches just 2:24 into the fight. The native Brazilian is 4-0 while competing under the UFC banner.

UFC 94 will emanate from the MGM Grand Garden Arena the night before the Super Bowl and will air live on pay-per-view. Already announced as the show’s main event is Georges St. Pierre defending the UFC welterweight title vs. current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

The UFC has yet to confirm Silva’s departure from the card but an official announcement is believed to be forthcoming.

It is not known if the UFC was able to immediately secure a new opponent for Machida, as the promotion has had trouble in the past finding willing opponents.

The 25-year old Silva is a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil and is 13-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career, according to Sherdog’s fight finder. Since debuting in the UFC at UFC 71 in May of 2007, Silva is 4-0 in the Octagon with wins over James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, Houston Alexander, and Antonio Mendes.

Machida is also undefeated with a record of 13-0 and is 5-0 in the UFC. His notable UFC wins have come against Kazuhiro Nakamura, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Tito Ortiz, who served as his most recent opponent in May at UFC 84. Outside of the UFC he holds notables victories over Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, and Stephan Bonnar.

UFC 89 will emanate from the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England and will be televised on Spike TV on a tape delay basis in the United States. The featured bout on the card will be a middleweight matchup between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben. A light heavyweight fight between Brandon Vera and Keith Jardine is scheduled as well.

(Pictured: Thiago Silva)