Evans was then put into position to face Jones for the title at UFC 133 but Jones pulled out of the bout with a hand injury. After Evans beat Tito Ortiz (the replacement for Phil Davis who replaced Jones) and Jones beat Quinton Jackson, it appeared we would finally see Rashad get his title shot. Instead, a hand injury for Evans forced him out and now Jones will fight Lyoto Machida at UFC 140.
So will Rashad take a chance like he did with the Rua fight and wait on the sidelines for the champion to be ready after his own recovery?
Dana White says no. Via MMA Weekly:
He was like 'I'm not gonna sit around and wait again.' So he probably will (fight). We'll see how this whole thing goes down, we'll see what happens. Plus Jon Jones has fought four times in 10 months. It's crazy.
I'm not exactly sure what fight you go with for Evans that is relevant. The winner of the Rua/Dan Henderson fight would make sense, but White already laid out that whoever won would be in line for a shot behind Rashad. Not that they can't change the plan, but it made sense to have a clear path set up that the title fights would go down.
I'm sure we'll know more over the coming months.