UFC Results - Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans to Michael Bisping

nospam@example.com (Johnny MMA) — Wed, 7 Nov 2007 07:37:07 -0700

It was widely expected that Rashad would be fighting Tito Ortiz again (their last bout ended in a draw), but Tito is busy re-negotiating his next contract, so the UFC offered Rashad a fight with Michael Bisping.

Rashad Evans has fired back at Michael Bisping. I guess Evans felt slighted by something that Bisping said in his blog entry on UFC.com. Here is part of Evans reply.

you can look forward to staring across the ring at somebody who’s gonna bring immense pressure, something you’ve never felt before. We’re gonna stand and just got toe to toe and battle it out. Believe me, you’ve never felt this before. You probably went to camp with Rampage and Rampage never gave it to you like I’m gonna give it to you. If you got jumped by ten people, I think your ass whipping would be less than what I’m gonna give you on November 17th.

Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping fight at UFC 78 on November 17th. You can come back here to UFC results for complete UFC 78 Results the night of the fight.

Are Bisping and Evans in the right weight class?

nospam@example.com (Johnny MMA) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:00:27 -0700

UFC 78 is quickly approaching and it's main event match-up between Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping made me think about fighters who could cut weight to drop to a lower weight class. In that spirit I am going to discuss four UFC fighters who might be well served by dropping weight and fighting below their current class.

Let me start at the top, the UFC heavyweight division. There are a couple of UFC heavyweights who could make 205lbs, remember Randy Couture fought as a light heavyweight for a while, he even held the light heavyweight title. There is really only one UFC heavyweight who I want to talk about dropping weight. Brandon "The Truth" Vera just dropped a three round decision to former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Brandon didn't loose this match because of his skill-set. He lost because of Tim's size. Tim pushed Vera up against the fence and used his weight to close the distance, essentially negating Vera's superior kicking game. If Brandon Vera dropped down to 205lbs I feel he would be competing on an even playing field and would likely quickly move into title contention.

The UFC light heavyweight division has the majority of guys who should consider dropping weight. There are three that I'd like to discuss, they are Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. You'll note that Bisping and Evans are the main event fighters at UFC 78. Both of these fighters are undefeated at light heavyweight.

Michael Bisping is an outstanding fighter, a good striker with an adequate ground game. However, his recent fight with Matt Hamill shows that he can be manhandled by a stronger opponent. Bisping mostly stayed on the outside in this fight and let Hamill control the action. I believe that this is because he was staying away from Hamill's strength...with is wrestling, and physical strength. We all remember on the Ultimate Fighter when Hamill was overwhelming the other fighters with his physical strength, a move to 185lbs would not only put him into title contention, but would allow Bisping to be stronger than other opponents in that weight class.

Rashad Evans has already dropped a weight class. Rashad competed at heavyweight on the Ultimate Fighter TV series and did very well, winning his division, but his recent bout with Tito Ortiz showed that Rashad, despite his superior wrestling skills is a small light heavyweight. Rashad will have no problems matching strength with Bisping at UFC 78, but when fighting the larger light heavyweights like Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva and Tito Ortiz he will get manhandled, essentially negating his wrestling advantage. A move to 185lbs would likely make Rashad an immediate title contender.

Dan Henderson has already fought at 185lbs and is the current, and likely last, PrideFC 185lb champion. Dan is strong, even for a 205lb fighter and Dan probably has the best wrestling in the UFC. Dan's last fight with Quinton Jackson showed that he can have trouble with a guy who is a good wrestler, a good striker and is as physically strong as he is. There simply isn't a fighter at 185lbs with Dan's strength. With a decisive strength advantage, Dan's heavy hands and fantastic wrestling would take him not only into title contention, but in my eyes he would defeat Anderson Silva.

In closing I want to reveal my ulterior motive. With Anderson Silva's dominant victory over Rich Franklin there is little competition left for Anderson at 185lbs. Matt Lindland if he rejoined the UFC or Dennis Kang would be good opponents, but that is not likely to happen. Looking inside the UFC we need to look at the class above for guys who can give Anderson Silva trouble. If the four guys I've discussed changed weight classes, both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions of the UFC would be completely stacked, making every weight class at or above 170lbs the most stacked in MMA.

Don't forget to return to UFC Results for UFC 78 Results

Tito vs Rashad 2 at UFC 77

nospam@example.com (Johnny MMA) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:49:13 -0700

Somewhere in my obsessive MMA surfing I came across this tidbit. It appears that (according to Rashad Evans camp) UFC 77 will be the venue for Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz - the rematch.

Tito and Rashad fought to a snoozefest draw at UFC 73. Tito would have won the match except that he had a point taken away for holding the fence in the second round (something that he did more than once and was warned about). Rashad won the last 30 seconds of the fight after Tito gassed and was given the third round as a reward.

Also on the UFC 77 card is Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin - the rematch. Rich Franklin got his face busted up in their first meeting as Anderson Silva put on a Muay Thai clinic landing knees from the clinch.

UFC 73 - Ortiz and Evans will have a rematch

nospam@example.com (Johnny MMA) — Sun, 8 Jul 2007 04:27:25 -0700

In a post UFC 73 Press conference, Dana White confirmed that Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans will have their rematch. This was after the fighters exchanced some heated words. Apparently they both think that they won their fight last night.
Continue reading "UFC 73 - Ortiz and Evans will have a rematch"

UFC 73 - The Best UFC Card Ever

nospam@example.com (Johnny MMA) — Wed, 9 May 2007 08:46:27 -0700

I'm going to claim this outright...UFC 73 is the best card that the UFC has ever put on.

Part of press release from ufc.com

â€œWe have five UFC events lined up now through July in the US and UK, and every one of them is stacked with great fights,â€ said UFC President Dana White. â€œNo matter where we have a UFC, our goal is always the same â€“ to deliver the best fights between the best mixed martial arts fighters. Our fans know they will always see a good fight, and thatâ€™s why the UFC reigns supreme in live sports today.â€

White continues, â€œUFC 73 is one of the best cards weâ€™ve put together this year. Itâ€™s going to deliver the one-two punch fight fans want â€“ it has Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, two all-state college wrestlers, both who dislike each other, settling their differences in the Octagon, as well as title defenses by our two champions Anderson Silva and Sean Sherk. Weâ€™re working on more fights right now to pack this card even heavier from top to bottom.â€

About his upcoming fight versus Rashad Evans, â€œHuntington Beach Bad Boyâ€ Tito Ortiz stated, â€œEverybody should expect fireworks. Rashad is standing in the way of my getting another title shot, and my prediction is that he wonâ€™t be able to handle my tempo or the 18,000 Tito Ortiz fans that are in Sacramento to see me win. My prediction is that fans will definitely get their moneyâ€™s worth.â€

Evans countered, â€œTito needs to learn the meaning of respect. On July 7, Iâ€™m going to teach him what thatâ€™s all about. Let him come down from the mountain to Greg Jacksonâ€™s training camp and heâ€™ll see what heâ€™s up against. Iâ€™m focused and on a mission, and my goal is to knock him out.â€