Rashad Evans will now reportedly fight Glover Teixeira at Fox UFC Fight Night in Tampa, Florida, on April 16 after it was confirmed his scheduled opponent, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, withdrew with an injury.
According to Damon Martin of Fox Sports, “UFC officials” confirmed the amendment to the card on Wednesday.
While fans will be disappointed not to see a longstanding score settled between Evans and Rua, Teixeira has shown a lot of quality in his recent outings.
The veteran Brazilian is enjoying a renaissance of sorts as of late, with two wins in his last two bouts. In August 2015, he halted exciting prospect Ovince Saint Preux, before scoring a technical knockout win over Patrick Cummins in November.
Here is a look at the kind of qualities the former UFC light heavyweight champion will have to cope with in the Octagon on April 16:
All eyes will be on Evans when he steps into the cage next month to see if he still possesses the magic. It’ll be just the second time he’s fought since November 2013, and in his return outing at UFC 192 against Ryan Bader in October, the 36-year-old looked far from impressive as he was defeated via a unanimous decision.
Should he fall short against an in-form opponent here, you do wonder whether or not Evans could ever be considered as one of the top light heavyweights in the world ever again. While Rua is a handy competitor, his withdrawal seems to have made Evans’ route back to the summit of the sport a little harder, with Teixeira a substantial roadblock.
According to Martin, the fight will remain on the bill's main card as planned. Topping the lineup is the lightweight bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, who are each seeking to propel themselves toward a shot at champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
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