TUF: Rampage vs. Rashad, Part II

‘Rampage’ Jackson and Rashad Evans are being lined up to coach opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter, so long as the latter can get over a reoccurring knee injury.

The two former light heavyweight champions first coached on season 10 of the show back in 2009, when the heavyweight edition introduced Roy Nelson, Brendan Schaub, Matt Mitrione and ‘Kimbo Slice’ to the Octagon.

The season was perhaps best remembered for Rampage and Rashad’s entertaining weekly running battles. When the dust settled, Team Rashad won the show and Evans won the coaches’ fight when they finally met at UFC 114.

After going 3-0 in Bellator MMA, Jackson is set to return to the UFC in April at UFC 186 in Montreal. Evans, however, has been out of action since November 2013 due to a knee injury.

‘Cro Cop’ chasing Pride rematches

Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic admits his return to the Octagon is not inspired by an inner desire to capture the UFC championship belt, but more a need to settle old scores from his Pride FC days. The Croatian heavyweight – speaking ahead of his return against Gabriel Gonzaga in Krakow, Poland on April 11th – told FO how future rematches were the motivation for his big comeback.

“I want fights that appeal to me in the UFC, fights like (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira, (Mark) Hunt, (Wanderlei) Silva,” Cro Cop said. “Also fights against (Roy) Nelson, Frank Mir and (Junior) dos Santos. These are the fights that I want to have. This is what the fans want to see. If winning these fights puts me in line for a title fight then so be it. I’d like to lift the UFC title, but that’s not necessarily why I am back in the UFC.”

Mike Tyson admits Ronda Rousey would likely 'kick my ass!'

Boxing’s former heavyweight champion of the world, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, accepts UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey would likely beat him up in a mixed martial arts fight.

When he was asked what he thought of Manny Pacquiao backing Rousey to defeat Floyd Mayweather in an MMA bout, Tyson told the HuffPost Live: “S**t, Ronda Rousey might kick my ass! 14 seconds her last fight! You’ve got to take that seriously... She’s putting these people to bed.”

He added: “MMA is more exciting than boxing. You see a guy in MMA make a stink fight and you’re never gonna see him again... Every fight is the best against the best, and that’s what’s hurting boxing.”

Couture-Ali little more than an awesome headline

Randy Couture admitted he would be open to coaching Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila for an MMA fight against Ronda Rousey, after the former boxing champion said “no woman can beat me.”

Ali, 37, is ‘The Greatest’s youngest daughter and retired from the ring with an undefeated 24-0 record in 2007. When asked about the UFC champion, she shrugged off Rousey’s MMA dominance by insisting ‘Rowdy’ would be too small to live with her in a fight. Naturally, Ronda responded with an open invite. Now it seems Couture is in too.

When asked if he’d be interested in coaching Ali, the former UFC heavyweight champ said: “Sure, she’s a great athlete and I have a lot of respect for her. But it would be tough for someone even as athletic as Laila to catch up with Ronda, that’s what all the other girls are having problems with now.”

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