Phil Davis out of UFC 133 Main Event

huh, maybe we should wait for an official announcement from Dana. There are conflicting reports about this, so we'll just have to wait and see.

That's a real shame shame for Phil, but am a tad disappointed that Machida has declined the fight; I was hoping Machida would off the win again against Evans.

Good, I don't want to see Phil Davis, I don't know why but he does nothing for me.
I wish Lyoto took the fight to knock Evans head off.

Wowww, major props to Tito for accepting the fight this late. Especially someone the caliber of Evans.

Machida turning this down is understandable. Especially considering he's fighting a different Rashad from their first encounter and he'd need more time to train for a wrestler.

Tito on the other hand just trained for a wrestler in Ryan Bader. The speed of Evans might give him some problems. Then again, Rashad hasn't fought in over a year so who knows if rust might come into play.

Soooo many factors going into this match. Insane!

I hope Tito can make a come back!

According to UFC president Dana White, Tito Ortiz wasn't the only light heavyweight to have a recent change of heart.

White today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Lyoto Machida initially agreed to replace Phil Davis and fight Rashad Evans at UFC 133 before balking and demanding "Anderson Silva money" to step in on short notice.

Instead, Tito Ortiz agreed to take the bout, and White said he earned himself a reprieve – and possibly a big rankings jump in the 205-pound division – by stepping after initially deciding against a quick return to action.

"Machida accepted the fight," White told MMAjunkie.com. "We knew for a couple days this was going down, and Machida accepted the fight. Then when we called back and said, 'OK, we're going to make this fight,' Machida's people came back and said, 'We'll tell you what. You pay us what you pay Anderson Silva, and we'll take the fight.' This was after they had already agreed to take the fight.

"I said, 'Are you [expletive] kidding me? I'll tell you what. You tell Machida he achieves what [expletive] Anderson Silva has achieved, then maybe he'll make Anderson Silva money. Have a nice day.'"

According to White, Machida's camp made it clear there was no fear or concern in the matchup. Instead, their strategy all came down to financial promises.

"They said, 'Machida will fly out there tomorrow if you pay him what you pay Anderson Silva,'" White said. "They said they would do the deal, then I call back to make it and that's what they said."

White admitted he was frustrated at the surprising turn of events. With many top light heavyweights currently booked for high-profile fights, the UFC appeared to have few options for the UFC 133 main event, but Ortiz re-entered the picture shortly after declining the fight.

"Tito turned it down, and then Tito called back and said, 'Did you get the fight yet?'" White said. "I said, 'Nope.' He goes, 'Let me think about it. Let me talk to my team, and I'll call you back tomorrow.' This was Tuesday night."

And though Ortiz today told MMAjunkie.com he was comfortable remaining on the sidelines, he called White and said he was ready to compete.

"I think it's a big fight for Tito," White said. "I think he's got a lot of momentum after winning that last fight. Evans was in line for a shot. Tito is now fighting a guy he went to a draw with and who hasn't fought in a year-and-a-half."

And while White openly admitted prior to Ortiz's UFC 132 contest that a loss would mean his release from the UFC, the UFC boss said that will not be the case at UFC 133. In fact, not only is Ortiz's career not on the line – he may actually find himself in title-shot discussions should he upset Evans.

"[Expletive] right, he gets a break," White said. "Tito stepped up to the plate. It's [expletive] weird here. It's like I'm dealing with a new person. I like it. I like the new Tito.

"The storyline is what's so interesting. Tito went from 'You're about to be cut,' to now, if he beats Rashad Evans, he's back in the mix. He's back in the picture."

White said a timetable for Davis' return has yet to be established, but the injuries that forced him out of the bout were not serious in nature.
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Seems to me that Tito is benefiting a lot from this decision.

Wow - major props to Tito... I'd love him to pull off the win. It kind of reminds me of the whole Chris Leben/Akiyama situation last year (...although it was only 2 weeks for Leben).

Hope Tito wins and earns his way into a title match. He likely figured if he doesn't do this now, there is no guarantee he will ever get a chance to work into the title picture again

I'll leave this here....


Lyoto Machida considered taking a short-notice fight, but he wasn’t going to do it for cheap.

Speaking exclusively to Sherdog.com on Thursday, Machida confirmed UFC President Dana White’s claim that Machida wanted “Anderson Silva money” to rematch Rashad Evans at UFC 133.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion revealed that while he wanted to accept the Aug. 6 fight at first, he later thought better of entering the matchup on only three weeks’ notice.

“I wanted a guarantee to fight [Evans at UFC 133],” said Machida. “My manager, ‘Joinha’ [Jorge Guimaraes], called me and I said at first that I was excited to be in the lineup. But, after meeting with my team, we saw that it wouldn’t be a good idea, especially because Dana White wanted me to travel to the U.S. immediately to have my training camp there. Many of the members of my corner don’t have visas right now. Then, I said, ‘If you want me to fight, pay me as a champion. Pay me like you pay Anderson Silva.’”

Machida, who is recovering from a minor elbow injury suffered in training, instead traveled to the beaches of upstate Para for a family vacation. The 33-year-old asserted that he risked endangering his career by entering ill-prepared against Evans, whom Machida knocked out in May 2009.

“A man approaches you wanting to buy your house, but you don’t want to sell it,” said Machida. “So then, you ask for a higher price. You want it? Then pay what I’m asking. I can’t put my career at risk with a bad showing. I think I’d have more to lose than to win in that fight. I have a name in the company. I don’t fight without being prepared, even when I lose. I can’t step in and take the chance of having a bad fight. Today, you have to be extremely prepared.”

Machida added that he believed Evans’ original opponent, unbeaten prospect Phil Davis, was nearly cleared to compete after suffering a knee injury.

“Joinha called me, saying they’ve offered me the fight, and then called back later saying it wouldn’t be necessary anymore because Phil Davis got cleared to fight. Then, I traveled to the beach with my family and the negotiations reopened.”

During a Thursday media conference call, White expressed his shock at Machida’s salary request, stating that the ex-champ had already agreed to fight before demanding more money. However, the UFC head claimed the situation will not harm future negotiations between the parties, something which Machida hopes to be true.

“If I’m requested [to fight] in a different way from now on, OK,” said Machida. “It’s not like I can’t train in Belem, but ‘pack your stuff and go to the U.S.,’ that takes money and time. It’s a professional relationship. Everything is business and people need to split things. I hope the UFC won’t harm me. It’s gotta be 100-percent with me and them. I want to respect the promotion, my fans and myself. That was my main cause for turning down that fight.”

www.sherdog.com/news/news/Machida-Confirms-Anderson-Silva-Money-Request-for-Evans-Fight-33947