UFC 140 Main Event: Rashad Evans Out, Lyoto Machida to Face Jon Jones for Title

Dana White announced today via Twitter that it would be Lyoto Machida, not Rashad Evans, who would face Jon Jones for his light heavyweight title in Toronto at UFC 140. 

This comes one day after White repeatedly shot down rumors that Jones/Evans was to headline the card.

According to White, Rashad Evans suffered a thumb injury some time back and currently has corrective pins in place. He did not state how long this injury would sideline Evans, only saying he would be "out awhile."

This latest setback is only one of several recent roadblocks in Evans' quest to regain his UFC gold. Since being dethroned at UFC 98 by Machida, (who now conveniently serves as his replacement after having lost the title himself), Rashad defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 114, earning another shot at the title. 

Since that time, injuries to both himself and the then-current champion (Mauricio "Shogun" Rua) caused their bout to be delayed, and eventually Jon Jones was slated to square off with Shogun instead.

After defeating Shogun, Jones himself was injured. Instead of sitting on the sidelines again, Evans (who hadn't fought in 14 months) took a fight with former champion Tito Ortiz, easily finishing him in the second round.

This is an unfortunate turn of events for Evans, who undoubtedly is hungry for a shot at Jones, who also happens to be his former teammate under the tutelage of Greg Jackson. Their ugly fallout has been well documented and has led to their fight being highly anticipated.

One can only hope that Evans sees a speedy recovery and that the fight will still happen at some point.