In the days leading up to UFC on FOX 2 the level of trash talk between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis became elevated, Chael Sonnen’s self promotion reached new levels, Michael Bisping was, well, Michael Bisping and Demian Maia and Chris Weidman lurked in the background. By the time the three main card fights had come to an end it felt like the hype had been much more interesting than the fights themselves.
Rashad Evans did deliver what he said he would in the days leading up to the fight, he showed that his MMA wrestling was superior to that of Phil Davis, but he did so in a defensive manner, letting Davis come to him and countering. Yes, it got Evans the win and in the end that’s the name of the game, but the performance was a bit of a letdown as this was not the Rashad Evans we have come to expect.
Questions after seeing Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis:
-How will the Rashad Evans of tonight fare against Jon Jones? Jon Jones will have more of a height and reach advantage over Rashad Evans than Phil Davis did and he won’t be as tentative and unsure of his striking as Davis was. Jones will be confident and will come after Evans from odd angles and with many more weapons that Davis did tonight. If Evans attempts to use the same style used on Saturday night, it’s very doubtful that he will have the same amount of success.
-What does Phil Davis have to work on? Phil Davis is a very good fighter, not great. He’s young and developing and has holes in his game. His leg kicks are pretty good, but his punches need work as does his MMA wrestling. He needs to use to take his solid collegiate wrestling base and adapt it to the cage. Against lesser opponents he’ll do fine with the skills he has, but the elite and experienced fighters are much more well rounded and will negate his advantages, much in the way that Rashad Evans did tonight. Davis should not look at this fight as a lost opportunity, instead he should use it as a learning experience, something to use to improve.
Questions Following UFC on FOX 2:
-What did the casual fan think of the fights? The hardcore fight fan may have walked away thinking the three main card fights lacked the excitement of some of the preliminary card fights. It’s easy to imagine a newer viewer, perhaps tuning in for the first time thinking, “what’s the big deal?” Hopefully the casual viewer will give the sport we all know and love another shot.
-Was Michael Bisping that good or was Chael Sonnen that bad? The odds said that Michael Bisping had little chance in this fight, but he did give Sonnen a bit of a struggle. It’s hard to imagine the Chael Sonnen that fought tonight giving Anderson Silva any problems in their rematch, he just did not look like the same fighter we saw in his past two fights.
-Does Demian Maia have to go back to his strength? As of late there has been a great deal of praise for the growth of Demian Maia’s striking skills, but at what cost? Tonight it seemed as if he was solely focused on establishing himself as a striker, totally forgetting that he has one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu bases in the middleweight division. Why he didn’t utilize his biggest weapon against Chris Weidman is something to ponder.
The UFC will head to Chicago on Saturday, presenting their second card on FOX. The main card will feature three fights, below you will find predictions for those fights and odds for the entire fight card.
Main Card Predictions:
Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis: The main event will feature the veteran, Rashad Evans taking on the young upstart Phil Davis. This fights a huge test for Davis and how he does in this bout will go a long way toward establishing exactly how good he is. Evans will be his first taste of real elite level competition in the UFC and honestly, I don’t think Davis is ready. It pains me to say that, but the only place I see him being better than Evans is in his wrestling game and after seeing multiple takedown attempts of Davis get stuffed in his last bout, I’m not sure that his wrestling will be enough to make a difference. I see Evans outpointing Davis, while keeping the fight standing. Rashad Evans by unanimous decision.
Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping: Not many people are giving Michael Bisping a chance in this fight, which is incorrect because he does have a chance at victory, albeit a very slim one. I see Sonnen coming out aggressive in this one and taking the fight to the ground, where he will use his wrestling and ground and pound to dominate Sonnen. Everyone thinks that Sonnen’s weakness is his jiu-jitsu, but you can probably bet that training in that discipline has been a large part of Sonnen’s camp. If it hasn’t, well, that would be a mistake. . Chael Sonnen by unanimous decision.
Demian Maia vs. Chris Weidman: Chris Weidman is saying all the right things going into his fight against Demian Maia. Weidman’s really in a no lose situation here, he took the fight on less than two week’s notice, so while a win would be great and keep his unbeaten streak alive, to say that a loss in a fight he really had no time to prepare for would hurt him is somewhat preposterous. Maia is a top level jiu jitsu practitioner, with not time to study his game, Weidman is at a huge disadvantage in this one and while I commend him for taking the fight, I just don’t see his wrestling trumping the BJJ of Maia. Demian Maia by second round submission.
Full UFC on FOX 2 Final Odds:
Rashad Evans (-175) favorite over Phil Davis (+145)
Chael Sonnen (-455) favorite over Michael Bisping (+355)
Chris Weidman (-165) favorite over Demian Maia (+135)
Evan Dunham (-345) favorite over Nick Lentz (+275)
Mike Russow (-165) favorite over Jon Olav Einemo (+135)
Cub Swanson (-135) favorite over George Roop (+105)
Charles Oliveira (-500) favorite over Eric Wisely (+350)
Shane Roller (-220) favorite over Michael Johnson (+180)
Joey Beltran (-215) favorite over Lavar Johnson (+175)
Chris Camozzi (-185) favorite over Dustin Jacoby (+155)
UFC 133 took place on Saturday, August 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. The fight card was one of the most injury plagued cards in UFC history, but it did manage to go off without any last minute injuries, something that the promotion was surely hoping for after all the gyrations they had to go through to get a fight card set in stone. The last change to a fight on this card took place on July 25.
Being a few days removed from the event, it’s time to take an objective look at UFC 133.
The five preliminary card fights on this card all went the three round distance and while none stood out as spectacular fights, one of the bouts helped a former champion keep his job with the UFC. Mike Brown, the former WEC featherweight champion, was on a two-fight losing streak when he met Nam Phan in Philly. Brown delivered a beating in the first round, teeing off on Phan for almost the entire five minutes, but he was never really close to finishing Phan during the round. The second round went to Phan and Brown came back to win the third. The victory, as Brown said after the fight, “saved my job.”
The televised preliminary card got underway with the unbeaten Chad Mendes facing off against the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Rani Yahya. At one point the MMA rumor mill had Mendes facing UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo on this card, but that fight never came to fruition. Not to be disrespectful, but Yahya is nowhere near as tough as Aldo. Yahya is a one-trick pony, a submission expert with limited skills in other aspects of the MMA game. Mendes handled Yahya with ease, earning the unanimous decision victory, but the performance was not close to what you would expect from someone that wanted to show that he is THE top competitor in the featherweight division. The performance very well could have hurt Mendes more than helped him and if former Shooto and Sengoku champion Hatsu Hioki dominates George Roop in his UFC debut, he could very well leapfrog Mendes in the rankings.
The second televised preliminary card marked the last fight MMA in Matt Hamill’s career. Hamill looked uninspired whenever he mounted any offense during his fight against Alexander Gustafsson; in short he looked like he didn’t really want to be in the cage. Gustafsson on the other hand, showed a great deal of energy and improved wrestling when dealing with Hamill. He also showed why his nickname is ‘The Mauler.” Once Gustafsson had Hamill down and hurt he used strong strikes to make sure Hamill was not able to recover. The day after the TKO loss Hamill announced that he would be retiring.
The first fight on the main card featured Mike Pyle, an MMA veteran, against the 22-year old Rory MacDonald. MacDonald, is being spoken about in not so hushed tones as the future of the UFC’s welterweight division and his performance against the much more experienced Pyle did nothing to alter those perceptions. MacDonald was working inside Pyle’s guard when he postured up and delivered a hard punch the head of Pyle, the impact causing Pyle to roll to his knees in order to protect himself. 10 seconds later the referee moved in to wave the fight off as Pyle was eating punches and elbows and offering very little defense. As the fight ended, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said, “You know I’ve heard him described as the next Georges St-Pierre, I gotta be honest, with all due respect, he might have more potential than that.” Some lofty praise for the 12-1 fighter, is it hyperbole? It’s tough to tell at this point, but we should all be keeping a close eye on MacDonald.
The fight between Jorge Rivera and Costantinos Philippou was the only main card fight to go the full three rounds and judging by the vocal Philly crowd, it was their least favorite fight of the night. The split decision went to Philippou, but neither fighter impressed in this outing and it would not be surprising to see them listed as preliminary card fighters in their next bouts.
The next fight on the card saw Brian Ebersole enter the cage with an arrow shaved into his chest hair. The “Hairrow,” as it is known, was soon outdone when his opponent, Dennis Hallman, entered the cage in a speedo. Within the first ten seconds Hallman took the fight to the ground, taking Ebersole’s back. The ground battle was mostly hand fighting until Ebersole got free from Hallman with 1:50 left in the first round. As soon as he was free, Ebersole looked to do damage with his strikes and that he did, earning the TKO win at 4:28 of Round One.
After the fight UFC president Dana White awarded Ebersole a $70,000 “Thanks for Getting Those Horrifying Shorts off TV as Soon as Possible’ bonus.”
In the co-main event, Vitor Belfort was able get back on the winning track after his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 126. During the bout, Belfort’s opponent, Yoshihiro Akiyama attempted a front kick, the move that Silva used to put Belfort out, the difference being that Silva connected. After the kick missed, Belfort teed off on Akiyama, hurting him with a left and then knocking him out cold with a flurry of punches reminiscent of the KO he handed Wanderlei Silva in October 1998. The victory earned Belfort “Knockout of the Night” accolades.
The main event of the night featured Rashad Evans facing off against Tito Ortiz. When the fight began Ortiz was the first to engage, looking for a kick that Evans easily spun away from. As the first round progressed both fighters looked comfortable with their hands. With a little more than three minutes left in the first round Ortiz shot for a double-leg takedown that Evans fought off after a prolonged period of time against the cage.
With two minutes left in the round Evans let go a barrage of punches that marked up Ortiz’s face, but he hung in and created a separation with a nice knee. Evans then shot in for a double leg, lifting Ortiz onto his shoulder and slamming him to the mat. Evans immediately went to work with his hands, spending the remainder of the round looking to assault Ortiz from top position.
When the second round began Ortiz looked like he was a bit leery of exchanging hands with Evans. Evans then shot for a takedown and landed in a guillotine choke, but he was able to slip his head out. Evans then spent the majority of the round working in side guard, delivering a number of strikes to the head of Ortiz.
As time ticked down in the second round Ortiz found himself on his knees with his back against the cage and while knees to the head are not legal to a downed opponent, knees to the body are and that is exactly what a patient and focused Evans delivered, crumbling Ortiz to the mat. Evans followed the brutal knee with some ground-and-pound that left the referee no choice but to wave the fight off at the 4:48 mark of the second round.
While UFC 133 may have started off slow, the main card made it well worth watching.
Any fears that the long layoff between fights would have a negative effect on “Suga” Rashad Evans were laid to rest when he ended Tito Ortiz’s night at UFC 133 before the end of the second round.
Evans last fought at UFC 114, defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via unanimous decision. The victory on May 29, 2010 set Evans up for a fight against then-UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The fight would never come to fruition, as Rua underwent surgery, delaying the booking of the fight.
Once Rua was healed and the fight was on the horizon, Evans sustained a training camp injury, forcing him from the fight. Evans’ injury allowed Jon Jones to slip into the open position on the UFC 128 fight card. Jones dominated Rua during that bout, capturing the light heavyweight title via TKO stoppage.
Evans was set to face Jones in Jones’ first title defense, but that fight never became official, as Jones opted out in order to tend to a lingering hand injury. Instead, Evans was booked to fight at UFC 133 on August 6, against Phil Davis.
Davis was pulled from the fight due to a training camp injury and Ortiz stepped in to take his place, and so after 14 months out of the cage, Evans faced off against “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.
Evans looked relaxed when he entered the cage, dancing to his walk-in music, while Ortiz paced his side of the cage staring daggers into Evans.
When the fight started Ortiz was the first to engage, looking for a kick that Evans easily spun away from. As the first round progressed both fighters looked comfortable with their hands. With a little more than three minutes left in the first round Ortiz shot for a double-leg takedown that Evans fought off after a prolonged period of time against the cage.
With two minutes left in the round Evans let go a barrage of punches that marked up Ortiz’s face, but he hung in and created a separation with a nice knee. Evans then shot in for a double leg, lifting Ortiz onto his shoulder and slamming him to the mat. Evans immediately went to work with his hands, spending the remainder of the round looking to assault Ortiz from top position.
When the second round began Ortiz looked like he was a bit leery of exchanging hands with Evans. Evans then shot for a takedown and landed in a guillotine choke, but he was able to slip his head out. Evans then spent the majority of the round working in side guard, delivering a number of strikes to the head of Ortiz.
As time ticked down in the second round Ortiz found himself on his knees with his back against the cage and while knees to the head are not legal to a downed opponent, knees to the body are and that is exactly what a patient and focused Evans delivered, crumbling Ortiz to the mat. Evans followed the brutal knee with some ground-and-pound that left the referee no choice but to wave the fight off at the 4:48 mark of the second round.
The TKO win puts Evans at the top of the UFC light heavyweight food chain and he will very likely face the winner of the Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson bout that is scheduled for UFC 135 in Denver in September.
Evans seemed unconcerned about who will be wearing the belt when he fights for it, saying, “I’m getting my belt back.”
MMA fans will be looking forward to that fight as Evans and Jackson have shown a distinct dislike for each other as have former training partners Evans and Jones.
News broke on Tuesday, July 12, that Phil Davis had suffered a knee injury and was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Rashad Evans at UFC 133.
Davis and Evans had been set to faceoff in the main event on the Aug. 6 fight card. The news of Davis’ injury was initially reported by MMAFighting.com.
Wednesday brought a handful of rumors as to who would replace Davis and when the smoke finally cleared, it was Tito Ortiz that stepped up to the plate.
The news came as a surprise, as Ortiz had tweeted earlier on Wednesday:
I have a life and things to take care of. The fight game is about making the right choices of my career. If you knew what I have been going through you all would understand.
Peaking for a fight is what makes a fighter unstoppable! Timing is everything in life. This is a rebuild year for me not do or die. The time will come again! #positive
The change of heart was welcomed by UFC president Dana White who told MMAJunkie.com, “The storyline is what’s so interesting. Tito went from ‘You’re about to be cut,’ to now, if he beats Rashad Evans, he’s back in the mix. He’s back in the picture.”
White stopped short of stating that the winner of the Evans vs. Ortiz bout would be next in line for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, but it is not a stretch to believe that to be a likely scenario.
Jon Jones is currently set to defend his title for the first time on Sept. 24 when he meets Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135.
Evans and Ortiz have met in the Octagon once before, fighting to a draw in July 2007 at UFC 73. Ortiz had a point deducted for grabbing the cage during the second round of that bout and it cost him dearly, as the final scorecards read 28-28 from all three judges.
Evans has not fought since he defeated “Rampage” Jackson in May 2010. That victory earned him a shot at then light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. That fight was delayed due to Rua undergoing knee surgery.
Evans opted to not take a fight while he waited for Rua to recover. When Rua was healthy, the fight was set for UFC 128 in March 2011, however a training camp injury forced Evans off that card. Rua would stay on the card, losing his title to Jon Jones.
Ortiz is coming off a career-saving victory. Ortiz was a huge underdog when he faced Ryan Bader at UFC 132 on July 2 and Dana White had made it known that a loss would cost Ortiz his UFC career.
Ortiz took the decision out of White’s hands as he forced Bader to tap to a guillotine choke 1:56 into the fight. The win was Ortiz’s first since he defeated Ken Shamrock in 2006.
Despite the fact that Ortiz is the fresher of the two fighters, Evans is the odds-on favorite to win the rematch. BetOnFighting.com has Evans listed at -450 and Ortiz at +300, odds very similar to those that Ortiz faced in the Bader bout.
It’s been a very eventful 24 hours for the UFC, but the dust has cleared and on Aug. 6, the next contender for the UFC light heavyweight crown could be decided in the City of Brotherly Love.
In the days leading up to UFC on FOX 2 the level of trash talk between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis became elevated, Chael Sonnen’s self promotion reached new levels, Michael Bisping was, well, Michael Bisping and Demian Maia and Chris Weidman lurked in the background. By the time the three main card fights had come to an end it felt like the hype had been much more interesting than the fights themselves.
