Report: Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans Planned for UFC 161 Event in Winnipeg

McKinley Noble

Jun 8, 2018

Update: According to a recent Twitter post from the UFC, Henderson vs. Evans is not the headliner. As such, the main event has yet to be announced.

Two former light heavyweight champions are reportedly being lined up for a headliner in Canada, as Dan Henderson may face Rashad Evans at a future UFC event in Winnipeg on June 15.

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According to GracieMag, sources close to the situation have informed TATAME that match is expected to main-event the card.

Henderson and Evans seem to have made verbal agreements for the bout, with both men recently tasting defeat in their last Octagon performances.

Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro also confirmed that the event will be hosted at the MTS Centre, the current home of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets:

"
I can confirm the UFC will host an event at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 15th. More news forthcoming. — Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) March 4, 2013
"

Sportsnet additionally reports that the MTS Centre's parent company, True North Sports and Entertainment, will be hosting a press conference on Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. MT "to announce 'a major sporting event.'"

Typically, the UFC has taken to hosting three events in Canada each year since 2010, with their most frequent stop being Montreal's Bell Centre.

Assumedly, this will be labeled as UFC 161, the promotion's second 2013 pay-per-view card in Canada following UFC 158, headlined by Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.

Prior rumors about a match between Evans and Mauricio Rua were previously shot down by UFC president Dana White, who told UFC Tonight (via MMA Junkie) that he intended for "Suga" to face "Hendo" instead.

Now firmly on the outside of the title mix, Henderson will look to recover from a close decision loss at UFC 157 to former light heavyweight champion—and current No. 1 contender—Lyoto Machida. Blackzilians leader Evans returns off a decision loss of his own from UFC 156, coming at the hands of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and tech writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, PC World, 1UP, NVision, The Los Angeles Times, FightFans Radio, MMA Mania and Bleacher Report. Talk with him on Twitter.