Top 3 Choices for Mark Coleman’s Replacement

With Mark Coleman pulling out of his fight with Tito Ortiz that was set for next month, I see three potential fighters that could step in to take his place:

Rashad Evans- I think it would be too soon for this fight. The first fight was a slow grappling-oriented match that Ortiz would have won if not for a point deduction for grabbing the fence. Since this match, Evans has gone on to beat Forest Griffin for the light heavyweight title and this is a contest that could be built up a bit more before they throw these two back inside the octagon.

Jardine- Keith Jardine would make sense because he is a guy who will fight anyone and is a name that fans would know. He’s not in the top tier of light heavyweight ranks but isn’t a can. This would be a good first fight back for Tito.

Forest Griffin- This is a fight that would be the most intriguing. Forest just got stopped by Anderson Silva, and could use a high profile opponent for his next match. This is a fight that would get people excited. Their first fight was very competitive and could easily have gone the other way. The question here would be if Griffin wanted to get back in the octagon so quickly after the Silva fight. He is a warrior and wouldn’t back down from anyone, but he also got married recently and has stated that he’d like to fight on January 2nd in Las Vegas.