UFC 133 Results: What Does Rashad Evans' Performance Mean for the UFC and MMA?

UFC 133 has survived the onslaught of injures and is finally over. Rory Macdonald proved that he is the real deal, Brian Ebersole dispatched the speedo-wearing Dennis Hallman and Vitor Belfort was far too powerful for Yoshihiro Akiyama.

However, the most important occurrence of the night was Rashad Evans' outworking and eventual TKO via a brutal knee to the solar plexus and subsequent punches. The most important aspect of this victory is not the victory itself but what that victory means.

By beating Ortiz, Evans has essentially guaranteed that he will face the winner of the UFC light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon "Bones" Jones and challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135.

Should Jones beat Rampage (as many are expecting), it could be a tremendous short-term boon to MMA but may hurt in the long run.

The implication of a fight between Jones and Evans is perhaps the largest grudge match since Ortiz-Liddell 2. The UFC hype machine would make no "bones" about the fact that the two men used to train together and were once close friends.

This could be a massive payday for Dana White and Zuffa.

There would be other benefits to this fight as well.

First, it would garner a significant amount of interest in the already popular light heavyweight division. This would catapult the division into the next level of fame and perhaps create the first rivalry in MMA that was on the scale of the rivalries during boxing's golden age.

Second, it would break the precedent of teammates not fighting one another set by Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, much to Dana White's joy.

Teammates not fighting one another is an issue in a sport that is becoming increasingly dominated by a select few elite camps that contain a majority of the best fighters. It is also an issue that infuriates Dana White.

Rashad's departure could signal an end to this problem because others in the future may mimic his actions and go to another camp. It would also give White leverage against Fitch and Koscheck since he could tell them to do what Rashad did, and they wouldn't have a valid reason to refute him.

The only negative consequence is not of the fight itself but rather of the skill of Jon Jones. If Jones smashes Evans, he can likely beat anyone else in the division. This would create yet another division where the champion is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the fighters—even the No. 1 contender in most cases.

Still, the fight would do more good than bad for the UFC and for the sport of MMA.

However, if Rampage Jackson were to do the unthinkable and defeat Jones, there would not be nearly as much of an impact. The lackluster match between Evans and Rampage at UFC 114 is still fresh in everyone's minds and nobody would want to see that for 25 whole minutes, no matter how much trash talk the fighters use to sell the fight.

Thus, Rashad Evan's masterful performance against Ortiz will mean a great deal for the UFC and MMA as a whole should Jon Jones win at UFC 135; it will create a legendary rivalry and boost pay-per-view and ticket sales. But should Rampage Jackson win, Evan's performance will just mean another rematch in a series of rematches, instead of a bang we will have only a whimper.