Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Cormier slated for UFC 170 headliner in Las Vegas

Daniel Cormier will make his light-heavyweight debut against former champion Rashad Evans as the headliner of UFC 170.

Evans (19-3-1 MMA, 14-3-1 UFC) today announced the fight as part of the pre-fight show for UFC Fight Night 33 on FOX Sports 1, where he moonlights as an analyst – as does Cormier (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

The five-round main event takes place Feb. 22 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.

Only one other fight has been announced for the card – a lightweight bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Rustam Khabilov.

Evans won the UFC’s 205-pound title in 2008 against Forrest Griffin, but he lost it in his first defense against Lyoto Machida. He then went on a four-fight winning streak to earn a shot at former friend and teammate Jon Jones’ belt. But he dropped that fight by unanimous decision and lost his rebound fight, as well, to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. But since then, he has back-to-back wins over Dan Henderson and, just three weeks ago, a TKO of Chael Sonnen.

Cormier has long been teasing a move to light heavyweight to make a run at the title since the heavyweight belt is held by his teammate and friend – and wrestling student – Cain Velasquez. The unbeaten Olympian is regarded as one of MMA’s best wrestlers, and he’ll get a tough test in his debut in the weight class against another highly touted wrestler in Evans. After winning the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, Cormier, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy, won one more fight there before moving over to the UFC for a pair of wins over Frank Mir and Roy Nelson.

For the latest on UFC 170, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Rashad Evans)