UFC 133 Fight Card: And Your Mystery Date Is...

Rashad Evans’ return to the Octagon has been a bumpy one.

First, he was supposed to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128. Then he was supposed to face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 135. Then he was scheduled to fight Phil Davis at UFC 133. Now Phil Davis has pulled out with an injured knee and left the UFC one man short of a main event.

The top two available light heavyweights, Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida, both declined to fight Evans on short notice. While fans are quick to criticize Machida and Ortiz, it may be smart not to accept a fight on four weeks notice against a top-five fighter like Evans.

To make matters worse, the rest of the division is already paired up.

Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson are fighting a month later for the light heavyweight title. Former champions Forrest Griffin and Shogun Rua rematch in Rio later that month. Randy Couture is retired and Matt Hamill and Ryan Bader are both coming off losses.

As they say, the pickins are slim.

There is one option that I think the UFC will eventually resort to. On the same card that Evans headlines, Rich Franklin battles Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event. Joe Silva and Dana White should ask Franklin to step up and fight Rashad Evans, thus saving the main event.

Evans vs. Franklin is a perfectly suitable main event and one with an interesting back story. Franklin was Evans' coach when the two were on Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. The student vs. teacher storyline has always been a draw. “Ace” is also a bigger draw than Davis so PPV numbers should not be affected.

Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama would be bumped up to the co-main event to replace Franklin vs. Nogueira. Finding a replacement for Little Nog will be easier than finding a replacement for Rashad. Evans is a top five 205-pounder, while Nog is coming off two straight losses. Nogueira has a wider array of fighters the UFC can reach out to on short notice.

Even though Franklin is coming off a loss to Forrest Griffin in his last fight, Evans should take the fight. He has been out of action for 16 months and his return to the cage has been anything but smooth. A win over Franklin does just as much as a win over Davis. Rashad needs to finally step back in the cage after the wild ride he’s had the last six months, probably for his own sanity.