Rampage Jackson on Rashad Evans: ‘He’s dead’

By Brett Okamoto

Friday, May 28, 2010 | 5:48 p.m.

Rashad Evans avoided having to fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in his rival’s hometown of Memphis, Tenn., last December when Jackson backed out of their scheduled fight to film the new "A-Team" movie.

But as it turns out, Las Vegas is proving to be a fairly unfriendly place for Evans as well.

The two main event fighters of UFC 114 both made weight Friday during the official weigh-in held before a packed house at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Jackson weighed in at 205, Evans at 206.

Any question as to whose side of the rivalry fans are on was put to rest when the sound of boos made it nearly impossible to hear anything Evans (19-1-1) was saying over the microphone while on stage — even prompting commentator Joe Rogan to tell the crowd, "Let’s show Rashad some love."

“I’m just trying to stay relaxed,” Evans said over the crowd’s noise. “There’s definitely a lot of anticipation for this fight but at the end of the day, it’s just another fight to me.”

It doesn’t seem to be just another fight to Jackson (30-7), who responded to Rogan’s first question with a very loud, simple response.

“He’s dead,” Jackson said of Evans. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this fight. I’m back in the UFC, and it’s time for me to crush some skulls. He’s dead.”

Rogan followed up by asking if Jackson had ever felt so much animosity toward an opponent before in his career.

“Never in my life,” Jackson responded. “I’ve never trained so hard so I could shut his big mouth. A guy with a glass jaw shouldn’t talk so much.”

As popular as Jackson was with the fans, his training partner and friend Michael Bisping didn’t fare so well.

The British fighter who polarized many American fans while coaching on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" was greeted by a lot of heckling the second he emerged from backstage, prompting him to flip off the fans and put a hand to his ear.

Bisping takes on Dan Miller in the night’s co-main event. Miller weighed in at 185 pounds while Bisping was slightly heavier at 186.

All 22 fighters ended up making weight and should be ready to go Saturday. The event takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Full Results:

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (205) vs. Rashad Evans (206)

Michael Bisping (186) vs. Dan Miller (185)

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (205) vs. Jason Brilz (205)

Diego Sanchez (171) vs. John Hathaway (171)

Todd Duffee (253) vs. Mike Russow (253)

Amir Sadollah (171) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (171)

Efrain Escudero (156) vs. Dan Lauzon (155)

Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Waylon Lowe (155)

Luiz Cane (205) vs. Cyrille Diabate (205)

Joe Brammer (156) vs. Aaron Riley (156)

Jesse Forbes (186) vs. Ryan Jensen (185)

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].