When Rashad Evans walked into the UFC cage, dressed to the nines as always, for a staredown with Jon Jones moments after his former teammate became the UFC light heavyweight champion last March, the tension between the two was palpable.
Wednesday afternoon, as the two men who will finally meet at UFC 145 this weekend sat on the stage, answering questions that have been asked for the last year, it was clear that the rivalry has lost its steam.
Make no mistake about it: this weekend’s main event is still a tremendous fight, but it’s not longer the clash of bitter rivals that it could have been in the past. That’s what happens when injuries occur and schedules are out of sync.
By now the story between these two has been a thousand times over:
Jones replaces an injured Evans against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128, and says he’d face his then-teammate in the future if he had to. Evans takes it personally, and breaks from the team at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then watches as Jones dominates Rua to claim the light heavyweight title.
They’re supposed to fight each other next, but Evans has a broken thumb, so the fight is pushed back until August. When Evans is ready to go, Jones is not, leaving Evans to steamroll Tito Ortiz at UFC 133. A month later, Jones submits Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the injury that kept him from facing Evans in early August healed enough for him to compete in late September.
UFC 140 in December becomes the target date, but once again, Evans is unavailable. Jones instead faces former champion Lyoto Machida, choking out the karate fighter in the second round. Now that Evans is ready to go, he’ll have to face unbeaten prospect Phil Davis first, with a win guaranteeing he’ll get his chance to face Jones in his next appearance.
Evans controlled the former collegiate wrestling champion, setting up this weekend’s clash that has now been 14 months in the making.
The fiery trash talk and animosity that fueled this feud in the early going has turned to exhausted decries from both fighters that they’re tired of talking; they just want to fight already.
Some people need there to be a compelling storyline between the two combatants to get them further engaged in the fight.
I could care less; this is still a pairing of the top two light heavyweight fighters in the sport today (sorry Dan Henderson), and the toughest test either man has faced inside the Octagon.
A little heat never hurt anyone in terms of drawing extra attention to the action in the cage, but now that things have noticeably cooled between Jones and Evans, perhaps we can get back to focusing in on the fact that these are two elite athletes who are about to engage in a violent game of human chess on pay-per-view Saturday night local time in Atlanta.
Jones is looking to continue the historic run that carried him to the championship in 2011. Last year, the 24-year-old from Upstate New York collected four victories, including three consecutive finishes against former 205-pound titleholders, an 11-month stretch that many have deemed the best individual year in MMA history.
Long and lean, “Bones” has been able to control the tempo and spacing of all of his fights, and he has the skill sets to be successful wherever the action takes place.
His creativity in the striking game and ability to make adjustments on the fly are second to none, and the scary thing is that he’s looked more dominant with each successful trip into the cage.
In Evans, he’s facing his most athletic and well-round opponent to date.
The 32-year-old former light heavyweight champion has looked impressive since his split from Team Jackson. Having set up shop in South Florida and help organize the team known as “The Blackzilians,” Evans seems to have tapped into a renewed love of the sport, coming into each of his last two bouts in tremendous condition, and showing a more aggressive approach in collecting wins over Ortiz and Davis in 2011.
While each of Jones’ last three opponents have had elite skills in one area, Evans can (theoretically) test the champion standing and on the ground.
Last time Evans stepped into the cage in Atlanta, he iced “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell with a blistering right hand that propelled him into his fight with Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 where he would claim the light heavyweight championship.
Prior to last year, Evans had seemingly fallen in love with his hands, relying too heavily on his boxing, but since the move to Boca Raton, he’s returned to his wrestling roots, using his takedown skills to control where the fight takes place, nullifying any offense his opponents have tried to muster.
If he hopes to make his return to Atlanta as memorable as his first visit, Evans will need to keep Jones out of rhythm — threatening with takedowns, and touching him with his hands whenever he gets the opportunity.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Jones enters the bout as a heavy favorite and with good reason. His arsenal of offensive weapons is so vast that you can never be sure what he’s going to do next. Whether he takes a striking-based approach or looks to use his own grappling skills, Jones has the ability to dictate the terms of this fight.
He’s never been taken down during his 10-fight UFC run, and his length makes closing the distance next to impossible.
But we’ve also never seen Jones pushed the way many expect Evans to try to push the young champion, and that what makes this fight so compelling: these two both have what it takes to beat the other.
After an incredibly long wait, the time for talking is finally over. All that remains now is one hell of a fight.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
Jason Moloney has survived an enthralling 12-round world title defence against Saul Sanchez in Canada, opening the door to a blockbuster unification fight in…
Conor McGregor says he's returning to the UFC for a fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas, calling it the "greatest…
