The first time Rashad Evans marched into Atlanta, he was a sizable underdog trying to make a legacy for himself. Next time he does, he'll again be a sizable underdog, this time trying to seal a legacy as a two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion.

Nearly a year after the long-simmering grudge between Evans and Jones began, there's finally an end game, UFC 145 in April. But until then, expect salvos to be fired and returned. A full two months before the two meet in the cage, they met at a spot overlooking downtown Atlanta, with Evans reasserting his belief that his previous work with Jones would give him the advantage in their matchup, and the champion admitting that the broken friendship and personal feelings would play a motivational role in his training.

After beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in an all-time classic last November, 41-year-old legend Dan Henderson turned down a proposed bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to watch how events would unfold in January's UFC on FOX show.

If Rashad Evans had been upset by Phil Davis, Henderson would have been thrust into a title fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. And even if Evans had won but Chael Sonnen had lost his fight on the same night, Henderson might have received a chance at a rematch with middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

Neither of those scenarios transpired, however, as both Evans and Sonnen won, setting up their own respective title shots. That has left Henderson in a kind of championship purgatory, with no obvious short-term move, according to Dana White.

Jake Ellenberger's homecoming was probably a bit more harrowing than he'd have liked, but every win counts in the UFC's suddenly bustling welterweight division.

The 26-year-old slugger withstood a furious final-minute rally from Diego Sanchez in the main event of UFC on FUEL, earning his sixth straight victory and vaulting his name into title contention inside his hometown of Omaha, Neb. Video highlights of Ellenberger's triumph can be seen below.

Say what you will about Stefan Struve's fighting style, but his heart can never be questioned.

The vertically gifted Dutchman stormed back from early adversity yet again in the co-main event of UFC on FUEL, dropping Dave Herman with a right uppercut before swarming for a second-round TKO finish to the delight of a wild crowd at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Video highlights of Struve's seventh UFC win can be seen below.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and No. 1 contender Rashad Evans will both appear in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon to promote their upcoming UFC 145 title fight, and we'll carry the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.

Jones and Evans are former friends and training partners who have become heated rivals, and the press conference is sure to contain plenty of heat. UFC President Dana White will also be on hand to oversee the festivities.

UFC 145 takes place on April 21 and marks the UFC's first fight in Atlanta since UFC 88, when Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell in the main event. That fight established Evans as the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight division (he would go on to take the title from Forrest Griffin), and at that point Jon Jones had only fought in the UFC once. Much has changed since then.

Thursday's press conference begins at 1 p.m. Eastern. Check it out below.

If the evil forces of cable TV conspired to keep you from seeing the first UFC on FUEL event, sorry, but you missed a good one. Now that it’s all over, time to sift through the rubble for the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

Biggest Winner: Jake Ellenberger
He might have taken his foot off the gas too soon in the third round, but he survived for a big win in front of his home crowd. Before he went from trying to win the fight to just trying to get through it, Ellenberger looked great. His quickness and variety kept Sanchez guessing, and his wrestling skills proved to be a nice escape pod when he needed it. For those first two rounds, he definitely looked like a guy who’d give Carlos Condit a run for his interim title. Then again, it’s not just how you start, but also you finish. Ellenberger did manage to get to his feet under his own power in the final seconds of the fight, but he came uncomfortably close to giving that fight away at several points. If you want to be an elite welterweight in the UFC, you just can’t do that sort of thing. You certainly can’t do it against a fighter like Sanchez, who has more guts than physical tools at this point. Maybe Ellenberger needed to walk right up to the ledge to learn that lesson, but so much in the 170-pound division depends on appearances these days. When they look at you, fans need to feel like they’re looking at someone who could maybe, possibly beat Georges St-Pierre. Spending the last couple minutes of a fight bleeding beneath your opponent probably isn’t the best way to accomplish that.

"We blew it," UFC President Dana White said. "It should have been a five-round fight."

After UFC on FUEL TV's thrilling main event between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez last night, media and fans alike questioned why a headlining bout of significance between two known action fighters would only be scheduled for three rounds. Sanchez himself wondered aloud in his post-fight comments with UFC announcer Jon Anik why the fight wasn't longer. In fact, the UFC had previously announced all main events would be five-rounds whether a title was on the line or not. According to White, it should have been and that mistake won't be repeated.

"I was sitting here again tonight looking at the fight going, 'Yeah, this should have been five rounds.' I think that if Ellenberger and Diego went back in there for a fourth round the place would have went crazy. People were ready for it at home," White lamented to FUEL TV's Ariel Helwani after the event.

Jake Ellenberger's UFC on FUEL victory over Diego Sanchez on Wednesday night was an entertaining battle, but it was more than that: It was a demonstration that Ellenberger is one of the best welterweights in the world, and a fighter who's ready for a title shot.

So let's not wait. Let's see that title shot right away. Let's see Carlos Condit defend the UFC interim welterweight title against Ellenberger as soon as possible.

It's not so much that Ellenberger is the clear No. 1 contender as that it's just the right fight to make right now. It makes sense based on timing -- Ellenberger and Condit should both be ready to take the fight by the summer -- and it also makes sense because Condit and Ellenberger have already fought once, in 2009, and it was a split decision. Condit and Ellenberger had a close 15-minute fight last time. Let's see if one of them can finish it within 25 minutes this time.

In the weeks leading up to their pivotal welterweight scrap, Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger promised a dogfight that would rival the early candidates for ‘Fight of the Year.' On Wednesday night, they delivered on that promise.

Sanchez and Elllenberger unleashed a wild three-round affair at the main event of UFC on FUEL, delighting the Omaha crowd with a number of furious exchanges and a late swing in momentum that almost saw "The Dream" steal the show. In the end, Ellenberger may have emerged the victor, pocketing a unanimous decision (29-28, x3) to the glee of his hometown crowd, but the result was not without its critics.

As Bruce Buffer tallied the judges' scorecards, a flood of professional fighters took to Twitter, sounding off on everything from the lack of five rounds to cries for a draw. Surprisingly, even the usually Twitter-averse Nick Diaz let his opinion be known, and needless to say, it was everything you'd expect.

Jake Ellenberger, Diego Sanchez, Stipe Miocic and Ivan Menjivar each won a $50,000 bonus for their performances at UFC on FUEL Wednesday in Omaha.

The main event between two welterweight contenders lived up to the hype and earned the Fight of the Night award, as announced at the post-fight press conference. Jake Ellenberger rocked and bloodied up Diego Sanchez to win the first two rounds convincingly. Needing a finish for the win, Sanchez took the initiative to push forward in the third and nearly pulled off the upset. Sanchez late in the fight pounded a tired Ellenberger against the fence with punches, but Ellenberger somehow ate the shots and found a way to escape.

In the end, Ellenberger won on all three score cards two rounds to one, perhaps slotting himself in line for a shot at the interim UFC title.

This is the UFC on FUEL live blog for Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez, the main event of tonight's UFC card from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha.

Ellenberger (26-5) has won five in a row in the UFC and won the biggest fight of his career last September, stopping Jake Shields in 53 seconds. In his last two fights, Sanchez (23-4) recorded wins by decision against Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann in "Fight of the Nights."

The live blog begins below.

This is the UFC on FUEL live blog for Dave Herman vs. Stefan Struve, a heavyweight bout on tonight's UFC card from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha.

Herman (21-2) won his UFC debut at UFC 131 in June, stopping John-Olav Einemo in the second round. Struve (22-5) is coming off a win over Pat Barry at UFC on Versus 6 in October.
The live blog begins below.

Ronny Markes withstood a hard punch from Aaron Simpson in the first round and fought hard enough in the second and third to win a close split decision at Wednesday night's UFC on FUEL event. The victory improves Markes' record to 13-1, and shows that he's a promising young fighter in the middleweight division.

But it wasn't easy.

Markes tagged Simpson with several hard punches in the first 30 seconds of the first round, but Simpson maintained his composure and clinched with Markes against the cage. After the referee separated them, it was Simpson who took control by landing a huge uppercut that knocked Markes down. Simpson then pounced and tried to finish Markes with ground and pound, but Markes stayed active from his back and survived. Simpson won the first round, but Markes did a nice job of staying alive when it looked like Simpson was ready to finish him.

This is the UFC on FUEL live blog for Aaron Simpson vs. Ronny Markes, the main event of tonight's UFC card from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha.

Simpson (11-2) won all three of his fights in 2011, defeating Mario Miranda, Brad Tavares and Eric Schafer. Markes (12-1) won his UFC debut last August by outpointing Karlos Vemola.

The live blog begins below.