So, decision time would seem to be fast approaching, and we may see Machida vs. Evans much, much faster than we had previously thought.  Rampage clearly wants his belt back (as evidenced by when he stood in the middle of the octagon Saturday night and screamed, “I want my belt back!”), but does he want it bad enough to hop right into another training camp and a five-rounder on May 23rd?  It wouldn’t be surprising if he did.

First of all, the jaw issue clearly didn’t keep Rampage from training properly.  He even worried that he had over-trained as he faced Jardine on Saturday night.  Second of all, a win over Evans would give Rampage a full summer to enjoy being the champion again, rather than having to wait for the winner of Evans-Machida to face him.

Even fans who really believe that Machida has earned his title shot (which is most fans, by now) must be at least a little amped to see Rampage face off against Evans after their brief trash-talking session after the main event on Saturday night.  Dana White and company had to be licking their respective lips as they watched one of the more charismatic fighters in the sport bring Evans to life, as the champion looked to become agitated by the man who had just beaten his teammate and close friend by unanimous decision.

So yes, though Machida has earned the shot, the better story at this point is a quick match-up between Rampage and Evans.  If the UFC is smart, they’ll let Evans simmer and even throw the two of them in a well-produced “Primetime” series, as they did with B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.  The talk between the two of them would be “inspired”, to say the least, and the buy rates and ticket sales would follow suit.

One intriguing question to wonder is, what answer is Rashad Evans hoping for?  Would he rather face Rampage in a couple of months, or the elusive and undefeated Lyoto Machida?  He likely would not cop to hoping for either rather than the other, and the best answer would be that he’s planning on being the champion for a long time, and will have to face both eventually, anyway.