Evans, Sonnen advance to title shots at UFC in Chicago

CHICAGO | Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen had two big opportunities on the line Saturday, and both of them came through.

Evans and Sonnen, both favored in their fights, won unanimous decisions at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis at the United Center, and both advanced to title fights later this year.

In the main event, Evans, a Chicago resident, dominated Davis for five rounds en route to a 50-45 sweep of the judges' scorecards.

The win gets him an April 21 date in Atlanta against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, a former friend and training partner who has become Evans' arch rival in the last year after taking Evans' spot in a title fight when he was hurt, then saying he'd have no problem fighting him.

"I'm excited because this was the fight to get the monkey off my back -- and it was hard to keep focused on this fight with everyone talking about the other fight," Evans said. "Phil Davis definitely brought it, and now that I've won I get a chance to fight Jon -- and I'll get excited about it."

And Sonnen, the man UFC president Dana White has called the best talker in sports since Muhammad Ali, got past Michael Bisping in a tough fight in the co-main event. He moves on to another grudge match -- a rematch with middleweight champion Anderson Silva, a fight expected to take place in June in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a soccer stadium.

But Sonnen maintains Silva will never rematch him. Sonnen took the champ to the fifth round in August 2010, dominating the first four rounds before tapping in the fifth. (Sonnen tested positive for elevated testosterone levels after the fight and was suspended for six months.)

"I know I'll do my part. Do I think he'll sign to fight? No, I don't. We'll see. I've been wrong before," Sonnen said. "They've offered him the fight four times, and he's said no four times. Mysteriously, he's supposed to accept on the fifth? I've heard of 'Third time's the charm,' I've never heard of 'Fifth time's the charm.' I have never backed down, and I never will. If he wants to fight or is willing to, I'll do my part."

The United Center show was the UFC's first in Chicagoland since October 2008's UFC 90, which took place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Saturday's show was a sell-out, drawing 17,425 fans for a gate of $1.2 million, according to UFC officials.

On the preliminary card, Kankakee native and Chicago police officer Mike Russow won a unanimous decision in his heavyweight fight against John-Olav Einemo to improve to 4-0 in the UFC.

But he said he thought the fight would stay mostly on the feet -- and was surprised at the number of takedowns he was able to get.

"I'm really surprised by the total amount of time we spent on the mat," Russow, a Kankakee native, said after the fight. "I was really looking to keep it on the feet and to box him as much as possible. I can't believe I'm 4-0 in the UFC right now -- it's unbelievable."