UPDATE: tatame.com is now reporting that Thiago Silva is fine and will be fighting Rampage.
Rashad Evans may have been forced out of his scheduled title fight against Shogun Rua, but his opponent when he returns will have fans just as excited.
Damon Martin of mmaweekly.com is reporting that an injury has forced Thiago Silva to drop out of his expected bout against Rampage Jackson at UFC 130, and Evans has agreed to step in.
This is the second fight between the two former Light Heavyweight champions, the first coming at UFC 114, where Rashad won by unanimous decision.
The fight was one of the most anticipated in UFC history after the two were constantly trash talking during their stints as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
The first fight was delayed six months due to Jackson's desire to play B.A. Baracus in The A-Team, and many Jackson supporters have cited the long layoff as the reason for Rampage's poor performance during the first fight.
Evans hasn't fought since the win over Jackson back in June, opting to wait for champion Shogun Rua to recover from a knee injury, but he suffered a knee injury of his own and was forced to drop out of the fight. He will have taken almost a year off by the time he fights again.
Rampage is coming off a split decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 in November and was offered the chance to replace Evans to fight Rua in March, but he turned the fight down due to inadequate training time. Rua will now face Jon Jones.
The rematch will likely be the co-main event on the card, with a Lightweight Championship rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard headlining.
