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Quinton (Rampage) Jackson suffered an injury to his hand in his win over Keith Jardine Saturday, putting a May 23 matchup against (Sugar) Rashad Evans for the light-heavyweight title in doubt.
It was announced on Saturday that Evans would headline UFC 98 in place of a rematch between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir, who became unavailable for that time frame after he underwent knee surgery on Thursday.
Jackson and Evans had a heated yet awkward stare-down inside the cage following Jackson's victory, in which words were exchanged about the two meeting next for the 205-pound belt.
A banner on UFC.com Sunday showed a picture of the two with the title "UFC 98: Evans vs. Jackson," and the matchup was listed on the website's fight card page. However, Monday the banner had disappeared and the UFC 98 fight card listed Evans' opponent as "TBD."
Should Jackson feel he is unable to properly prepare for the bout with 11 weeks to go, Evans would instead face unbeaten Brazilian Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida, who is coming off an impressive knockout of Thiago Silva on Super Bowl weekend.
NOTES: Spike TV on Monday announced the dates and full cast for The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K., which will premiere on April 1 and pit teams of 16 Americans and 16 British fighters against each other. Each side, coached by Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping, respectively, will feature eight welterweights and eight lightweight fighters. As in recent seasons of the reality show, fighters must win a preliminary bout to earn a spot in the house and contention for the TUF crown, to be decided during the finale that is scheduled for June 20.
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The Ohio State Athletic Commission has released salary figures for Saturday's UFC 96 in Columbus, with Jackson not surprisingly being the biggest winner. Jackson took home $325,000 -- including a $100,00 win bonus -- for his win over Keith Jardine, who pocketed $55,000. Gabriel Gonzaga was the biggest loser, as it were, earning $60,000 despite falling to Shane Carwin ($32,000). On the undercard, Brandon Vera won $60,000, while Kendall Grove received $44,000 for beating Lethbridge, Alta.'s Jason Day. The Canadian got a mere $5,000.
