Former light-heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua have been targeted to fight at UFC On FOX 19 on April 16th at a destination still to be confirmed.
Evans will no doubt be hoping to prove he still belongs amongst the top contenders at 205lbs at the age of 36 after a two year injury lay-off was followed by a unanimous decision loss to Ryan Bader back at UFC 192 in October of last year.
Prior to that ‘Suga’ had defeated both Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen though, which means he’s still in the mix at No.7 in the divisional rankings heading into this fight.
‘Shogun’ also has a lot to prove in this fight, though the pressure of having gone just 1-4 over the past few years was released slightly back in August of 2015 at UFC 190 when he defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by unanimous decision.
The fact that his last two losses to Ovince St. Preux and Dan Henderson both came via strikes remains a concern for the battle-worn veteran, but he’s still No.8 in the rankings and with his fighting spirit there’s no doubt the 34 year-old will still believe he can rise back up the light-heavyweight ladder and get back into title contention.
Evans Vs Shogun is only the second bout to be announced for UFC On FOX 19 so far, with Tony Ferguson Vs Khabib Nurmagomedov also announced in the past 24 hours for the main card.
