Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen were expected to win their fights at UFC on FOX 2 Saturday night, and they did just that.

Evans defeated Phil Davis by unanimous decision to become the No. 1 contender for the light heavyweight title while Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision to earn a future shot at the middleweight championship.

In the main event, Evans simply out-classed Davis with his superior wrestling and striking. Davis, who was in the biggest fight in his career, seemed overwhelmed by the environment and his opponent while Evans remained calm and implemented his game plan.

Evans didn’t look overly impressive but he did enough to win and now will face Jon Jones at UFC 145 in a fight that everyone has been waiting for.

Sonnen had a much more difficult time with Bisping than what was expected. Bisping showed the ability to stay off his back, but he didn’t quite do enough in the eyes of the judges to win the striking contest.

All three rounds were razor thin and there was some debate as to who won, but ultimately the judges all scored the fight in favor of Sonnen. He will now face Anderson Silva for the second time later this year. Sonnen clearly had the best performance against Silva than anyone in the UFC, as he was an arm triangle away from pulling out a decision win over the champion.

For full results from UFC on FOX 2, check out the jump.

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UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been forced out of his UFC 133 bout against Rashad Evans, and Phil Davis has stepped in for the August bout writes Nate Lawson of HeavyMMA.com.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will not meet Rashad Evans later this year.

Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press broke the news today that the champion was forced out of the contest and that the fast-rising Phil Davis will step in against Evans at UFC 133 this August.

According to MMAjunkie.com, Jones has been sidelined due to a torn right hand ligament, and the recovery will apparently be a lengthy one. A timetable has not been set, though.

Jones defeated former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 last month to earn the light heavyweight strap. Immediately following the fight, former champion Evans entered the cage, and the pair agreed to fight for the championship later this year.

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HeavyMMA.com’s Spencer Kyte breaks down the 10 things we learned from UFC Fight Night 24 on Saturday.

PHIL DAVIS IS STILL GROWING
In the wake of Jon Jones’s tremendous rush to the top of the UFC light heavyweight division, a lot of people are expecting a similar quick climb for Davis. If his performance Saturday night is any indication, he’ll get there, but it shouldn’t be any time soon.

Davis is a tremendous talent with a very bright future, but he’s far from being a finished product. Earning a good win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is another step in the right direction, but showed that the former national champion’s striking is still a work in progress.

Some may frame his win Saturday night as a sign that the hype surrounding Davis is a little too much, but to me it as simply indicative of something Davis told me earlier in the week: he’s still green.

As he continues to develop, Davis will become a very dangerous part of the 205-pound division. I just hope people give him time to get there at his own pace.

Read the full list of 10.

HeavyMMA went to Seattle for UFC Fight Night 24 and they’ve got a complete recap on the preliminary and main card bouts.

ANTONIO ROGERIO NOGUEIRA vs. PHIL DAVIS
Round 1: Davis circling away from Nogueira’s left to start, a wise decision. Head kick from Davis glances, both guys still finding range. Big kick from Phil lands, but Nogueira dones’t flinch. Exchange shots, Davis pushing in for a takedown, but Nogueira stays up. Davis driving knees into Nogueira’s thigh. Back into space, Nogueira measuring and swings wild with the left. Anything head kick offering from Davis. Shoots again, and again Nogueira stays up as the two clinch. Separated again, Davis tries with the head kick again, then gets another takedown denied. Big swing and a miss from Nogueira. Front kick from Davis misses. Head kick again from Davis and Nogueira lands his first solid left. Davis shoots and ends up throwing Nogueira to the ground, but the veteran is right back up. 30 seconds left. Swing and a miss again from Nogueira. Lands one at the 20 second mark, Davis shoots and again can’t get the takedown. Heavy scores it 10-9 Davis.

Read the full recap.

E. Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com takes an in-depth look at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 24 card from Seattle.

The UFC production team makes the cross-country trek for the second show in seven days as UFC Fight Night 24 hits Spike TV from the Pacific Northwest just a week after UFC 128 rocked New Jersey harder than Springsteen in his heyday.

While the card has undergone a number of changes since the original lineup was announced, each shift has made the event better.
Nam Phan squaring off with Leonard Garcia would have been good, but Garcia facing “The Korean Zombie” for a second time is awesome. Tito Ortiz facing fellow veteran Rogerio Nogueira was an okay main event, but switching Ortiz for Phil Davis makes things a lot more entertaining.

Cards on the table: I love all the changes because I’m going to be in Seattle (well, I’m in Seattle right now) covering this event for Heavy, so getting an even better lineup for my first assignment for the site is gravy on my french fries, maybe with some cheese curds mixed in.

Read the full preview.