UFC 98: What Could Have Been

Now I realize many UFC fanatics and followers believe Lyoto Machida deserves this title shot against Rashad Evans at UFC 98 more than Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

I am one of those guys that would have preferred to see a battle between "Rampage" and "Sugar". However, I do see where everyone is coming from, seeing that Machida has stacked up an incredible amount of wins, a lot of them being against quality opponents.

The problem with this whole scenario, at least in my eyes, is the question of when will a fight ever be held between Jackson and Evans.

After the bout between Jackson and Jardine, the stare down that ensued between Jackson and the light heavyweight champ was, well, what I believed to be the start of a great rivalry between two stellar MMA fighters.

However, with the surgery necessary to get Jackson back to 100 percent being necessary, it is obvious that Machida should get a shot at Evans at UFC 98.

The problem with this is that I just have to wonder if we are going to have a Chuck Liddell versus Wanderlei Silva moment somewhere down the line, except the two fighters would be Jackson and Evans. I personally would really love to see Jackson vs. Evans, but will that fight occur when they are both out of their prime?

While Liddell vs. Silva was a great fight, neither fighter has had any success against anybody else. Same situation goes for Hughes vs. Serra, who will also fight at UFC 98 along side Evans and Machida. I wish I could have seen that fight five years ago.

So when does Dana White plan to have this fight happen? Will it be when both fighters are well out of their prime and desperate for a win to keep their UFC careers alive?

What about the result of UFC 98? What implications will this have on Jackson and Evans meeting inside the octagon?

I would find it very unfortunate if we have to wait several years to see this fight actually happen. To be honest, I think this would be a great fight between two of the elite, and a fight that every UFC fan would quite frankly deserve to see.

Just thinking about the power that these two athletes bring to the table, and the electricity and excitement going through the arena just moments before this fight leaves me wondering what could have been.