Rashad Evans: If anyone can give Jon Jones trouble, it's Lyoto Machida

Here comes trouble.

Lyoto Machida will challenge reigning 205-pound champion Jon Jones in the headlining bout of the UFC 140 pay-per-view event, scheduled for Dec. 10, 2011, at the Air Canada Center in Toronto.

The same Jones that has utterly destroyed the competition since his 2008 debut.

Hoping to derail the hype train was former Jackson's MMA training partner Rashad Evans, who was (twice) booked to try and break "Bones," only to have the opportunity slip away following untimely injuries on both sides.

Enter "The Dragon."

Machida, who stanky-leg'd Evans at UFC 98 way back when, will now take his place. And as "Suga'" tells Fight Hype, if there is one man that can give the champion trouble, it's the Brazilian:

"If anybody can give him trouble, I would think it would be Machida, and for a couple of reasons. One reason is Machida's used to that kind of craftiness and movement because he trains with Anderson Silva, so he's used to seeing that. That's where Jon Jones got a lot of his style from is Anderson Silva. So Lyoto is used to training with the originator. One thing Jones brings to the table that Anderson doesn't is the ability to take the fight to the ground. He brings that ground and pound and Jon is very good at that, so there are a couple of areas where Lyoto will have to watch out for Jon. But for the most part, if he can use his footwork and watch out for some of the tricks and not stay on the outside and watch like everyone else does... I think he could do pretty good in this fight."

Like Jones, Machida was able to enjoy a run at the top that was considered untouchable.

That is, until Mauricio Rua usurped the throne at UFC 113. Since then, he's split a pair of bouts between Quinton Jackson and Randy Couture, sending the latter into retirement with a dented grille.

Will Jones bring out the best in Machida? The violent aggressor who spot-welded Thiago Silva to the canvas before cutting power to the consciousness of Evans?

Or will he be the "elusive" Machida, like the one that out-maneuvered Tito Ortiz?

More importantly, does either version stand a chance against Jones?