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And just like that, UFC 161 and the fine folks in Canada have a new main event, as light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson replace interim UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland.

Barao suffered torn ligaments in his foot and was forced to remove himself from the June 15 card in Winnipeg.

Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, enters looking to snap a two-fight losing skid to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jon Jones. “Suga” is 17-3-1 in his MMA career.

Henderson, meanwhile, was defeated by Lyoto Machida earlier this year, dropping his overall record to 29-9. He has won four of his last five fights overall.

Barao is out of #UFC161 with an injury. Main event for 161 is now Evans vs Henderson.

— UFC (@ufc) May 21, 2013

Rashad Evans knows what it takes to work to the top of the UFC’s 205-pound division.

After claiming a title on The Ultimate Fighter, “Suga” defeated Forrest Griffin to become the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Since dropping the belt to Lyoto Machida, though, Evans has had troubles inside the Octagon, including recent back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

However, upon signing up to meet Dan Henderson later this year, Evans made sure to let everyone know while appearing on MMAjunkie.com Radio recently that retirement is not in his future.

I lose a couple fights, and they’re like, ‘You should retire!’ Fight fans, they get nuts. If you go out there and don’t look sharp, they want you to retire right away.

The meeting with Henderson is one Evans has been hoping for, as he admires the former multi-promotion champ.

“Henderson’s got those bombs,” Evans said. “He’s one of my favorite fighters, so it’s going to be fun to fight him.”

Who pulls out the victory in this key 205-pound tilt, Henderson or Evans?

Despite two straight losses, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is unfazed by any talk of his release should he fail to defeat Dan Henderson later this year.

Evans, who was unable to get on track vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira earlier this year, talked about his loss on UFC Tonight earlier this week.

I watched a little bit of the fight. It was a lackluster performance on my part. It was one of those life lessons. You watch a fight like that, and it’s like, ‘What was I thinking? Where was my head?’ It took me weeks to get my head around what I did.

Evans discussed a potential release by stating, “No, I’m not worried about losing my job. I put in a lot of good fights in the UFC and I’m confident that I’m not going to lose my next fight.”

In the same sentence, though, Evans admitted that a third consecutive defeat would mean a change in weight classes, adding, “I would consider dropping down. If I drop down and things weren’t going right, then I would think about retiring.”

Evans and Henderson is an excellent match up of two top 205-pounders ever, as both are excellent wrestlers with devastating knockout power. It will be interesting to see which “Suga” shows up come fight night.

Rashad compares fighting to basketball in a surprisingly valid and enlightening analogy. Rashad reminds us he only lost a fight; he simply had an off night, and he plans to come back with full force.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans didn’t seem like himself during a recent loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Now, in an interview with ESPN, “Suga” is letting it be known that he wasn’t the same entering the fight.

Evans will get his chance to snap a two-fight losing skid later this year when he meets Dan Henderson.

“Having a failed marriage and not being able to see your kids on a daily basis, that’s what hurts me every single day,” Evans said. “I feel like I failed in my marriage and I failed my kids by not being in their lives on a daily basis. It’s because they live in Chicago and in order for me to train I live in South Florida for the most part. I have a place in Chicago, but I’m rarely ever there because I’m always trying to train. It bothers me and I can’t say that it doesn’t.”

Evans’ divorce was finalized after a loss to Jon Jones in 2012 for the UFC light heavyweight title. He spent the remainder of the year on the sidelines, only to fall to Nogueira upon returning.

Now, with a key match up vs. Henderson on the horizon, Evans is anxious to get back to work.

“I’m happy about this fight [against Henderson],” Evans said. “Having the chance to fight somebody like Dan is a big deal, especially after not having the performance I would have liked [against Nogueira]. It’s good to get in there with somebody like Dan and answer a lot of critics and to show everybody that I am still one of the best guys in the weight class. I couldn’t find my rhythm against Nogueira; I couldn’t find my timing. It was just one of those things. It was like I was in a mental fog.”

While both Evans and “Hendo” are coming off losses, this is a bout that has me excited. These are two legends in the 205-pound division and they should put on a show.

Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting