Two of Lyoto Machida's predecessors as light-heavyweight champion will lead teams on the next run of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's reality show.
The promotion today named Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans as coaches for the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter. The move changes UFC's earlier plans for a bout between Jackson and Machida, who knocked out Evans on Saturday to win the 205-pound division's title belt — coaching on TUF means Jackson and Evans won't fight until December.
Jackson said he wanted more time to refresh his ground skills and wrestling. Although Jackson initially became a star in Pride because of his takedowns and ground-and-pound attack, he believes he has become too one-dimensional in recent years while focusing on his boxing.
"I want to get back to slamming people," Jackson said. "I want to be more unpredictable, because that's what got me this far."
UFC President Dana White and Jackson said he was chosen as a coach because he wanted to face Evans. Jackson said he remains angry that Evans confronted him in the cage immediately after Jackson's March win over Evans' teammate, Keith Jardine, at UFC 96.
"When I found out who I was coaching against, I couldn't turn it down," Jackson said.
UFC makes sure both coaches actually want to do it rather than simply forcing them to take part in the show, White said.
"I'm not the psycho dictator that everyone thinks I am," he said.
Both coaches have experience on the show, with Evans winning TUF Season 2 and Jackson coaching on TUF Season 7.
Jackson's previous coaching stint went poorly, as many of his fighters lost their bouts. This time he will do a better job of taking each fighter's abilities and skills into account, he said.
"I'm going to talk to the guys a little bit more, see how they're feeling," Jackson said.
Season 10 will feature heavyweights. It is scheduled to start airing on Spike TV in September.
Although TUF is largely about producing new talent for UFC, it also has been a showcase for the coaches' personalities. Machida as a person remains somewhat enigmatic to the casual audience, but he simply wanted to fight sooner than December, White suggested.
"Machida wants to stay busy," he said.
With Jackson out of the picture, the new champion's next opponent likely will be named today or tomorrow, White said. A report on Machida's website that he will be fighting at UFC 103 in September is not true, White said.
(Posted by Sergio Non)
Source : USA Today
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