Thiago Silva next to face Rashad Evans?

With Quinton “Rampage” Jackson retiring/quitting/on sabbatical/taking a mental health break, his fellow Ultimate Fighter coach, Rashad Evans, is in need of somebody to punch. Looks like Thiago Silva might fit the bill. Five Ounces of Pain is reporting (via MMA Fanhouse) that the two could face off as early as December’s UFC 108 or early in 2010.

And while it’s just rumour and speculation at this point, everything about it makes sense, especially when you take into consideration that the only loss on each fighter’s record came at the hands of light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida. Evans (13-1-1) was knocked out in the second round by Machida at UFC 98 in May while Silva (14-1) was knocked out in the first round by Machida at UFC 94 in January.

Sounds like UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva need to make this fight happen, if for no other reason than to get Evans back in the cage and salvage something out of this abysmal (from a non-ratings perspective) season of TUF.