The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship grudge match between former teammates Jon “Bones” Jones and “Suga” Rashad Evans will have to wait. Jones has withdrawn from the planned UFC 133 matchup due to a hand injury. The Canadian Press was first to report on the cancellation.
In Jones’s place, unbeaten prospect Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis has stepped in to face Evans in a non-title bout on the card. Jones suffered the injury in his March 19th title victory over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The 23-year-old Jones replaced an injured Evans on short notice in the March title fight.
Davis (9-0-0) won his first four fights before debuting for the UFC early last year. He went 4-0 inside the Octagon in 2010; picking up impressive submission victories over Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson and Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch along the way. The talented wrestler took a step up in competition one month ago, also as a late replacement for an injured Tito Ortiz, and defeated former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira. The decision victory was Davis’s biggest to date, and a win over ex-champion Evans could set up a much-talked-about bout between Davis and Jones down the line.
Evans (15-1-1) began his tenure inside the UFC as the winner of Season Two of The Ultimate Fighter, and he has since found great success inside the Octagon. With a punch heard around the world, Evans knocked out former long-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell at UFC 88, and went on to capture the 205-pound title from Forrest Griffin in his next bout. Evans was unable to successfully defend his title, as he was viciously stopped by Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 98, but he has since bounced back with workmanlike decision wins over Thiago Silva and another former champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
The untimely injury to Jones marks the second straight time that a title shot has been snatched away from Evans, but a victory over the surging Davis would almost certainly put him back in line to face Jones this year.
UFC 133 is targeted for August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
UFC 133 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– “Suga” Rashad Evans vs Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
– Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
– Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Michael “Mayday” McDonald vs Nick Pace
– Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Dennis “Superman” Hallman
– Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Riki Fukuda
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)