For more than a year, former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans have waged a heated war of words.

This fight is personal. While the fight had to be put on hold, Jackson’s strong dislike for Evans never wavered.

Jackson (30-7-0) doesn’t want to beat Evans; he wants to punish him. The mention of Jackson’s name makes Evans’ blood boil. Evans (14-1-1) revealed the source of his disdain recently.

“Quinton is always perpetuating negative stereotypes of black men.

One would be hard-pressed to find an African-American male whose feelings aren’t hurt after being called a Sambo by another African-American. It is possibly the harshest word one African-American male can call another.

Sambo’s origins come from the book “Little Black Sambo” by Helen Bannerman. Labeling Jackson a Sambo is equivalent to calling him an Uncle Tom. Evans, however, isn’t the only African-American mixed martial artist who shares this view of Jackson.

“He plays into the ignorant stereotypes some black males tend to get labeled with,” Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal told ESPN.com. “Taking time off proved to be good for my body,” Jackson said. Neither Jackson nor Evans will have a sense of humor at UFC 114. The only fighter presently on his mind is Jackson.

“I have a 205-pound reason not to look past this fight,” Evans said.

[ Source: ESPN ]