With Quinton "Rampage" Jackson withdrawing from a December contest with Rashad Evans (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) to pursue an acting role, "Sugar's" next move has been uncertain for several weeks.

That period is over.

MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the fighter that Evans and Brazilian Thiago Silva (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) have verbally agreed to meet in the co-main event of UFC 108.

Evans first mentioned the possibility of the contest to AOL FanHouse (http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/23/rashad-evans-thiago-silva-likely-next-after-rampage-jackson-bac/) in September, citing a brief exchange of glances at UFC 102 in Portland, Ore., as the genesis for the contest.

"Thiago Silva is a good fighter; I'd like to fight him and I think he wants to fight me," Evans told AOL FanHouse. "When I saw him after he fought Keith Jardine, he kind of gave me a nasty look that I interpreted like he wanted to take me on, and I'd like that."

Evans' wishes will now apparently become reality, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

Evans seeks to rebound from the first loss of his five-plus-year career. The 30-year-old lost the UFC's light heavyweight title in May when Lyoto Machida dropped him in the second round of their UFC 98 main-event contest.

Silva also recently suffered the lone loss of his career to Machida. After suffering a first-round knockout to "The Dragon" in January, Silva has since bounced back with a TKO win over Keith Jardine at UFC 102.

UFC 108 is scheduled for Jan. 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is expected to feature a main event between current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort.

For the latest on UFC 108 (http://mmajunkie.com/event/657/ufc-108.mma), stay tuned to the UFC Rumors (http://mmajunkie.com/Events.aspx?rumors) section of MMAjunkie.com.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/16371/rashad-evans-vs-thiago-silva-set-for-ufc-108-co-main-event-in-january.mma

good fight for both fighters, and a logical matchup with rampage's exit

i'm leaning toward rashad, but this fight can easily go either way

I would love to see Silva knock Evans out. Dont like the guy, never have.

I would love to see Silva knock Evans out. Dont like the guy, never have.

I used to think like that, but after seeing more of him on the ultimate fighter and a few interviews of him I'm starting to like him, rampage is just a twat.

im with ninja....i would love another hightlight reel of evans ktfo......and thiago is just the man to do it.....WAR SILVA!!

Thiago's got some ****ing bombs in his hands, but I think Evans can take him. I think his superior wrestling is gonna be a factor in this fight...if worse comes to worse, he always has the option of grinding out a LnP decision.

i think it's gonna be a war between the two of them. i like both two fighters they're best.

damn. in one way i want silva to win, cuz im a fan of his. but im an even bigger fan of rampage, and if rashad got iced a second time that would kill that fight which ive been looking forward to a long time.

i wouldnt mind seeing silva win. rashad is a bit ****y, and the way he bounces around with his spandex on in the ring is annoying.

the best was when rashad was getting backed up against the cage vs machida, and was getting smashed but was still provoking and waving machida on. then he got the ko which he deserved.

I'm excited about this fight. It makes good sense to put Rashad in with someone like Silva. Fancy Evans to win this one on a UD. He will use his wrestling to win this fight one. The UFC put in a good replacement for Rampage in T Silva.

damn i thought anderson silva would get this one...... o well....

Evans also has quicker hands but Silva is good on the ground aswell, great fight!

Thiago Silva is going to murder Rashad.

http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/thiago_silva.jpg

THE TRUTH! :boxing:

Thiago Silva is going to murder Rashad.

http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/thiago_silva.jpg

THE TRUTH! :boxing:

I highly doubt that, when it comes time to ufc 108, ill find you to place a bet

I would love to see Silva knock Evans out. Dont like the guy, never have.

Evans is a genuinely nice guy. no reason to hate him.

Evans is a genuinely nice guy. no reason to hate him.

Some people are just gonna get hated on no matter what.

I dont get it, people blab that he's arrogent, who the hell isnt arrogent. BJ Penn talks about how he's gonna kill his opponent, Rampage always talks a boat load of ***** and acts like a lil kid and people still love him.

Hey to each his own but its like Rashad said, The whole arena boo's me and i just think to myself, didnt I just spend two hours signing autographs and taking pictures wit fans??

Let em keep hatin Rashad, the more they hate the more bread you make.

On another note this fight is gonna be crazy, I like both fighters actually but I think Rashad is more well rounded although Thiago is nice as well.

I'll bet against anyone once the fight nears closer

I'm more of a fan of Silva, than Evans, but I'm afraid this one will end badly for Silva. If memory serves, Silva isn't the best at avoiding punches and Evans has enough power and speed in his hands to make him pay for it.

Silva has plenty of power, but I don't think it will go well for him if he tries to stand and trade with Evans. If Silva can gain position on the ground he can win this one, but I expect a KO/TKO in Evans' favor unfortunately. Hopefully Silva can avoid a stand-up war and then it should be a really good fight.

its a game of who lands the first bomb. im pitching for evans, dude is fu******kin slick.

Hopefully Silva can avoid a stand-up war

Thats NOT gonna happen, aside from the jardine fight, all of silvas other ufc fights showed some actually overrated stand up. He gets hit easily and his bread and butter is actually grounding and pounding someone out which is doubtful against a wrestler like Evans. He's a black belt in BJJ but thats about as useful as Wanderlei's black belt in BJJ.

It should be a hot one tho,I really like Silva and would love to see him up the ranks but I really think Evans is well rounded enough to stop him, if Drwal had him rocked a bit, im sure Evans can too

sliva's working his way up, he knocked out the dean of mean in his last fight, i can see him being behind in the fight and knocking evans out. the odds are slightly for evans in this fight but i think thiago can pull out an upset, then get beat up and knocked out by machida