wrestler_nl
28-05-2009, 21:06
Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans named as coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 10 (Updated) (http://mmamania.com/2009/05/28/report-quinton-jackson-and-rashad-evans-named-as-coaches-for-the-ultimate-fighter-10/)
It appears the bad blood between former light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Sugar” Rashad Evans will take precedence over the traditional format for the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Despite losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 on May 23, Fighter’s Only is reporting that Evans — not Machida — will oppose Jackson, even though Rampage still has a pending showdown with “The Dragon” later this year for the light heavyweight championship.
MMAmania.com has been able to confirm with Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, that the newly-minted 205-pound champ will not be participating in the next season of the Spike TV reality show.
From Soares:
“I dont really know why to be honest. [The UFC has] their choices. It doesn’t bother me. Lyoto is going back home today. He will see his family before getting ready to train for his next fight.”
While Machida coaching may have been a concern from a production and ratings standpoint for Spike TV, it would have been a nice medium to get the quiet champion some much-needed exposure on national television (much like it did for Antonio Nogueira on TUF 8).
It would have also served as a strong lead in for an eventual big money title fight against Jackson later this year — though Soares cautions it’s anything but a done deal.
“I’ve heard nothing about that, we will have to wait and see what happens. That sounds weird to me. All I know, Machida is not going to be a coach.”
This will not be the first rodeo for Jackson — he served as coach alongside then 205-pound number one contender, Forrest Griffin, during TUF 7 in early 2008. He would later go on to lose his title to Griffin via controversial unanimous decision at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” in July 2008.
It appears the bad blood between former light heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “Sugar” Rashad Evans will take precedence over the traditional format for the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Despite losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 on May 23, Fighter’s Only is reporting that Evans — not Machida — will oppose Jackson, even though Rampage still has a pending showdown with “The Dragon” later this year for the light heavyweight championship.
MMAmania.com has been able to confirm with Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, that the newly-minted 205-pound champ will not be participating in the next season of the Spike TV reality show.
From Soares:
“I dont really know why to be honest. [The UFC has] their choices. It doesn’t bother me. Lyoto is going back home today. He will see his family before getting ready to train for his next fight.”
While Machida coaching may have been a concern from a production and ratings standpoint for Spike TV, it would have been a nice medium to get the quiet champion some much-needed exposure on national television (much like it did for Antonio Nogueira on TUF 8).
It would have also served as a strong lead in for an eventual big money title fight against Jackson later this year — though Soares cautions it’s anything but a done deal.
“I’ve heard nothing about that, we will have to wait and see what happens. That sounds weird to me. All I know, Machida is not going to be a coach.”
This will not be the first rodeo for Jackson — he served as coach alongside then 205-pound number one contender, Forrest Griffin, during TUF 7 in early 2008. He would later go on to lose his title to Griffin via controversial unanimous decision at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” in July 2008.