"Thiago Silva is a good fighter, I'd like to fight him and I think he wants to fight me," Evans told FanHouse. "When I saw him after he fought Keith Jardine, he kind of gave me a nasty look that I interpreted like he wanted to take me on, and I'd like that."

As we noted earlier, there were other potential opponents for Evans. One opponent that was offered to him was Randy Couture, for a bout at UFC 105. However, Evans turned the fight down, feeling that it wouldn't further his career.

"That was a match-up that I didn't think was good for me," Evans stated. "He's 46 years old and coming off back-to-back losses as a heavyweight, and I feel like beating him wouldn't move me up the rankings as a light heavyweight. Plus I would have had to take that fight on short notice, in England, and it felt like I'm being punished because Rampage took a movie.

"I think I match up really well with Thiago Silva," Evans continued. "He's a great striker, and I love his focus. He's going to be a challenge, and that's the kind of fight I want."