UFC.com just officially announced that Rashad Evans has stepped up to fight Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 in London, England. In addition Fabricio Werdum will face Brandon Vera in a heavyweight battle.

Evans will be replacing Shogun Rua who had to pull out after re-injuring the same knee that he had surgery on after his loss to Forest Griffin at UFC 76. It is a huge opportunity for Rashad who has waited for this fight since his UFC octagon debut back in 2005. Evans is currently undefeated with 6 UFC victories and one draw. In his last UFC appearance he defeated "The Count" Michael Bisping in a controversial split decision at UFC 78.

Rashad is looking to make it seven straight but he will be facing one of the UFC’s most dominant light heavyweight champions of all time in Chuck Liddell.

“I’ve always said that I wanted to be the best and that I wanted to leave my mark in this sport,” said Evans. “The only way you can do that is by facing the best. I’m not a fighter who wants to fill himself with false hope that I’m something that I’m not. I think I’m the best, so I’m gonna go out there, fight the best, and test myself.”

Evans also said he considers Chuck a legend and that no one has dominated a weight class for as long as Liddell did. Amazingly Rashad is willing to participate in a stand up battle if need be despite his Division 1 wrestling background. If that’s the case it could end up being a short night for the TUF 2 winner. If he is smart and uses his wrestling ability to dictate where the fight goes and implements some ground and pound it could be a long night for Chuck. Evans commented on the subject.

“Definitely,” he said. “With my background, wrestling has always been something that I’ve focused on, and it’s been a part of me. But I can definitely stand up and I do like to do it. In training I stand up with the best of them and I know I can do it in a fight and stand up the whole time if I have to.”

Chuck Liddell is coming off of his stunning 3 round unanimous decision win over former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 in December. Liddell will be looking to tag on another KO to his already long list of knockout wins including KO’s over Randleman, Babalu, Ortiz, Couture x 2, Tiger White and so on.

UFC 85 will take place on June 7, 2008 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Tickets for the event go on sale today at 10am GMT.

Click here to find UFC 85 tickets at eBay.com.