• UFC 140

White confirms Evans will be next for Jones - if he wins

Rashad Evans might finally get to fight © Getty Images

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UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Rashad Evans will still get the next shot at Jon 'Bones' Jones, should the light-heavyweight champion successfully come through his forthcoming bout with Lyoto Machida.

Evans was due to take on Jones at UFC 140, but was forced to pull out of a title fight against the young star of the sport for the second time after sustaining an injury to his hand - with Jones subsequently suggesting Evans should lose his No. 1 contender status due to his frequent injury problems.

Machida stepped in to face the 24-year-old in Toronto instead and White - while confirming Evans is still at the head of the queue to fight for the title - believes the matchup could be a tricky one for Jones.

"If Jon Jones can walk through Machida the way he walked through Rampage (Jackson) then he has arrived, he is the real deal," White said. "The sky's the limit for this kid. He's got the Rashad fight after that and Rashad claims he's getting his number.

"Machida is stylistically very tough and I think this is a fun fight."

White believes another victory for Jones could reasonably lead to people nominating Jones as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, especially after beating Jackson in convincing fashion in his last contest.

"I've said it many times that this guy is the whole package," he said. "At such a young age, taking on the names and beating the guys that he has.

"He's dealing with a lot of stuff that puts a lot of pressure on people and at a very young age. "It's unbelievable. Before the Rampage fight people were talking (about being the best) pound-for-pound but I don't want to put the pressure on this guy. You're not in your prime until you're 27, 28, 29 years old. It's really impressive."

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