UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans May 29th Fight Thread

[tlongII]

I'm interested to see Duffee fight. I saw him live at UFC 102 and he was very impressive.

[polandprzem]

I'm interested to see Duffee fight. I saw him live at UFC 102 and he was very impressive.

He looks really impressive but can he fight at the top level?



Man oh man Rampage just must win this fight, otherwise I do not see him coming back to an elite. I don't know I just feel he does not have the drive if he will not get the challenge for the belt. If he will lose I don't see him climbing the ladder, he will have no desire to fight below his 'status'


Shad is talking so much trash it's incredible.
We will see the best RAshard out there. He have the best camp and best preparation he ever had.
I wonder how much wrestling will come to play and what will be Jacksons gameplan?
IMO this fight easily can end up in the first round. Rashard is not a fast starter and Rampage is very sharp from the get go.

[dbreiden83080]

Mike Pierce almost KO'd him, pushing the pace even after he'd been sat on for most of the match.

Alves, Fitch, and GSP are the fights Diego needs a quality strategy for

Fitch takes him down and beats him up for 3 rounds..

Alves leg kicks him until he can't stand up

GSP does whatever he wants whenever he wants to Diego.. Diego does not have the skill-set to beat any of the top dogs. He is a mediocre striker with good wrestling and cardio..

other than that he survived through the worst beating of his life without quitting or being put to sleep

Frankie Edgar just beat BJ or at the very least lost a superclose fight to him depending on your point of view. Diego showed he can take a beating but that's it.. That is all he showed, he got nothing done in that fight to lead anyone to feel he is le bound in that weight class or WW.. He is a small WW and does not have the skill to dethrone BJ or likely beat Edgar based on what i saw in the Edgar/Penn fight..

so anyone else in the division is going to just get an onslaught from him. You don't give him enough credit, and still have no answer why you put him on the same level as Leben and Jardine. But I won't argue it anymore, it won't change anything. /done

I don't know why you are so ticked off at me.. I never said he was on the Jardine Leben level but for me you are a gate-keeper if you can't get past say the top 5 or 6.. As i said, GSP, Alves, Fitch, Kos, Hardy, Swick, Daley (If he comes back) I might take Ben Saunders too if he can avoid the takedown, Diego can't stand with him.. Gate-keeper as you fight the guys that are looking to get to that next tier. If they beat you, they qualify if they don't then they don't qualify..

And i am not hating on Diego, i like him fine.. Just going on what i see..

[polandprzem]

Yea at this point Diego is few steps behind the group db mentioned

[dbreiden83080]

The animosity between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans is at an all-time high.

Despite their much-anticipated showdown being less than two weeks away, the former UFC light heavyweight champions are set to throw down at any given moment, much like they were during their time as coaches on season ten of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show on e TV last fall.

Jackson and Evans spent the majority of Tuesday’s UFC 114 “Rampage vs. Evans” teleconference call barking back and forth about the issues behind their hatred for each other. Things were tense from the start, but really opened up once Jackson claimed that a fight against Evans is a step backwards for him.

“A win over Rashad would be like a moral victory for me,” Jackson said. “Rashad doesn’t have a le. He couldn’t even hold onto the belt. It’s almost like I’m asking myself why I’m even fighting this guy. But then I did ‘TUF’ and now I know why. If you aren’t on the same level as someone, you should keep your mouth shut. This guy isn’t on my level. I defended my le. I don’t like the way he talks to me. He’s real fake and real y. For someone who hasn’t really done much in this sport…”

“Who am I to fight him? Who the (expletive) is he to fight me? I beat Forrest (Griffin), you lost to him,” interrupted Evans. “Just because you’re black, stop acting stupid. I can’t stand that at ude. Rampage does his same old thing like black-on-black crime. He just acts like he doesn’t know what’s going on for comedy. I’ve talked to him before. He’s a smart guy. He just acts stupid.”

“At the end of the day on May 29, you know that you’re getting your ass kicked,” Jackson responded. “You go home and open your own gym and coach because you’re a good coach. You ain’t a fighter, homie. A guy like you with a glass jaw shouldn’t be talking as much as you are talking.”

“I have a glass jaw? I remember you getting rocked with a straight right hand going up against the cage against (Keith) Jardine,” Evans said. “You got a glass jaw. You’ve been knocked out many times and you were on street when you fought Jardine. You’re going to quit. What about the ‘Shogun’ (Mauricio Rua) fight? You quit. You sat in the corner and gave up. You were still talking while you were asleep.”

“When I fought Jardine, I had a hurt jaw. That’s why I took that time off,” Jackson countered. “You were on street a long time when you fought (Thiago) Silva. You had jiggly legs and all. It was like you were gettin’ jiggy with it.”

The dislike Jackson and Evans have for one another stems all the way back to their first meeting in 2004, when Evans was just starting his professional career. Evans was part of a two-night heavyweight tournament being put on by the Gladiator Challenge promotion, while Jackson was in town to corner another tournament participant, training partner and UFC veteran Hector Ramirez.

“I met Rashad back in the day when he was fighting in Gladiator Challenge,” said Jackson. “He fought Hector Ramirez and Hector broke his ankle in the cage and Rashad was dancing around, playing with his nipples like he still does now. After the fight he came to me and was like ‘Yo man, I want to come train with you’ but he was talking (expletive) on my teammate and dancing around so I said no. (Rashad) knocked out some fat guy with a head kick before fighting Hector and his head just inflated. And then when I fought Jardine he commentated my fight and was talking all bad about me and my game.”

Evans revealed that Jackson was actually his favorite fighter before the encounter and noted that even though all of the hard feelings are ever-present, an underlying theme of mutual respect still remains.

“When I met Rampage, he was my favorite fighter. I looked up to him,” Evans said. “When he lost to Wanderlei (Silva) in Japan, that kind of crushed me because I was like ‘Damn, that’s my dude’. You always have to respect someone that you fight. Both guys kind of leave their spirit out their in the cage and stuff. That’s something you can always respect.”

UFC President Dana White echoed Evans’ sentiments.

“These kind of fights happen every once in a while,” said White. “Don’t fool yourself, this is the fight game. Sometimes the guys who fight each other… they just don’t like each other. These guys don’t and it is what it is. There’s that WWE stuff when the guys are out there trying to hype it up and make it look that way, but these guys seriously don’t like each other. It doesn’t get anymore real than this. These are two guys that generally want to fight each other because they don’t like one another.

“But I’ll be honest with you, and they’ll probably both deny it right now, but the thing is that they both respect each other in ways, but they still don’t like each other. When this fight is over, they may squash this. When this fight is over, they might still hate each other. You never know how this goes. But the respect is there.”

Also during the teleconference call:

• White briefly touched on Jackson’s apparent unhappiness with the UFC: “Rampage is very opinionated. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve been very fair with a lot of people. Me and my partners in this business have made a lot of people a lot of money. Rampage killed it in this “A-Team” movie and he’s going to make a lot of money. I want a piece of his second film.”

• Jackson on staying busy during his time away from MMA: “I fought a couple of fights back-to-back and I was kind of worn out after that. Now my body is doing really good and I’m able to train harder. I hurt my jaw a week before the Wanderlei Silva fight and then I had to fight Jardine right after that so I was hurting. My jaw is good now but I really needed that time off. I trained as much as I could while I was filming the movie. I brought Tom Blackledge up there and he worked with me. I trained and ran and did what I could do to stay in the game.”

• Evans has experienced success against opponents that training partner Keith Jardine has lost to: “Part of the reason why I’ve done well against a lot of guys that Jardine faces is because we’ve had the opportunity to go at in our training camps so I get a pretty good idea of what to expect based on what he tells me. I was cageside when Jardine fought Quinton so I have a good idea of what he’s going to come with, when he’s going to roll and stuff like that.”

• White said that there was very little hesitancy in pairing Jackson and Evans together: “This was the fight. These guys both coached on ‘TUF’ and not only do I think everybody wants this fight, but I know these two want this fight really bad. If you can’t see that, I don’t know what to tell you. The day that they walked on the set, they don’t like each other. It all worked out though. Quinton did a huge movie… this thing is going to be a big movie and we’re happy for him and after all that, we still think that the fans want to see this fight, so I’m excited. When you get two of the best in the world fighting, it’s always fun, but when you get two guys of that caliber that really don’t like each other, it’s great.”

• Jackson claims that training for Evans has resulted in his best camp to date: “I’m not underestimating Rashad at all. This is going to be a good test for me. I underestimated Forrest, didn’t train properly for him and came into the fight overweight. I’ve learned my lesson over and over again and I think it has prepared for me now, when everything counts. I haven’t trained that hard in the past but I’ve really done the work this time. I used to think that my camp for Wanderlei was the hardest, but this is it. I’ve really pushed myself and I’m proud of myself because I’m known as a guy that’s not very good in the gym. I suck in the gym, but this time, I’ve really worked hard and I’m already proud of myself.”

• Evans brought Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal into his camp: “It was a connection that I already had. Me and Mo have been cool since college. He’s got the best takedowns in the sport and the best wrestling too, so I wanted to work with him for this fight. If I want to take Rampage down 100 times, I want to be able to do that.”

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Jac...-Meeting-24578

[CubanSucks]

Mike Pierce almost KO'd him, pushing the pace even after he'd been sat on for most of the match.

ALMOST. Exactly my point. You have to land the all time greatest head kick to KO Fitch. If there was ever a time it could be done it was a couple times during the GSP fight

[dbreiden83080]

Page is in ready..

[polandprzem]

The second part of primetime was bit worse but that ending was ridiculous. Goosbumps and hype all over my body

Can't wait for the weight-ins and fight !!!!!!!!!!!!

[dbreiden83080]

[MannyIsGod]

I hope Page smashes him. God damn I used to like Rashad too.

[CubanSucks]

I really don't see how anyone can take a strong side in this. The talking has gone both ways. Unless this fight ends in decision I'm really gonna feel sorry for who ever losses

[dbreiden83080]

I really don't see how anyone can take a strong side in this. The talking has gone both ways. Unless this fight ends in decision I'm really gonna feel sorry for who ever losses

I can't see a hand shake at the end here.. Especially if someone gets stopped..

[The TroutBum]

Page is in ready..

Maybe I'm just weird, but Page looks FAT and out of shape to me. The whole, "HE'S DEAD!" is ing lame. I always liked Page up until I watched TUF, and even then I liked him, but lost some respect. Now? I am almost hoping 'Shad wins...

[CubanSucks]

I'm gonna root for Rampage ONLY because I think a Page/Thiago Silva fight would be next and it would be amazing. If Evans wins, I can't see what would be next for him.

[Stringer_Bell]

I can't see a hand shake at the end here.. Especially if someone gets stopped..

If someone gets stopped, he will accept defeat. They aren't complete morons. A decision would be more heart breaking for both, especially Rampage.

[dbreiden83080]

If someone gets stopped, he will accept defeat. They aren't complete morons. A decision would be more heart breaking for both, especially Rampage.

IF Page KO's him like he did to Wandy..

Yeah right..

[dbreiden83080]

Maybe I'm just weird, but Page looks FAT and out of shape to me.

New training pics he is in shape....

[dallaskd]

sig bet for anyone who thinks rashad will win

[The TroutBum]

sig bet for anyone who thinks rashad will win

I'm down. I really want Page to win, but I don't think he will.

[dallaskd]

Light Heavyweight bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
Middleweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
Heavyweight bout: Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
Light Heavyweight bout: Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz
Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway

[dallaskd]

lol @ UFC, "The biggest grudge match in UFC history"

just like Liddell-Couture III was "the one we've waited our entire lives for"

wack marketing strategies but i guess the newbies buy into it. IMO all of these fights go ahead of page-evans.. my top 10 ufc grudge matches..

Hughes vs Trigg
Ken Shamrock vs Ortiz
Ken Shamrock vs Frye
Penn vs Pulver
Liddell vs Oritz
Sakuraba vs the gracies
Lesnar vs Mir
Frank Shamrock vs Ortiz
Penn vs GSP
Frank Shamrock vs Baroni

honorable mention:

Diaz vs Sanchez
Liddell vs Wandy (not at the time of the fight, but years of smack talk before)
Hughes vs Serra
Jackson vs Liddell
Jackson vs Evans
Sanchez vs Koscheck

..now those are real grudge matches. Evans doesnt even really talk

[dbreiden83080]

lol @ UFC, "The biggest grudge match in UFC history"

just like Liddell-Couture III was "the one we've waited our entire lives for"

wack marketing strategies but i guess the newbies buy into it. IMO all of these fights go ahead of page-evans.. my top 10 ufc grudge matches..

Hughes vs Trigg
Ken Shamrock vs Ortiz
Ken Shamrock vs Frye
Penn vs Pulver
Liddell vs Oritz
Sakuraba vs the gracies
Lesnar vs Mir
Frank Shamrock vs Ortiz
Penn vs GSP
Frank Shamrock vs Baroni

honorable mention:

Diaz vs Sanchez
Liddell vs Wandy (not at the time of the fight, but years of smack talk before)
Hughes vs Serra
Jackson vs Liddell
Jackson vs Evans
Sanchez vs Koscheck

..now those are real grudge matches. Evans doesnt even really talk

I agree with a lot of that list but between TUF, The Primetime show and the conference call Evans has talked a ton about Page. So much so i am as anxious for them to finally settle it as they are. So i don't have to hear about it anymoree

[dbreiden83080]

last Primetime on Tonight after TUF..

[polandprzem]

last Primetime on Tonight after TUF..

Damn, I could not sit calmly watching the third episode.

I'm pissed. I got pissed.
Evans talks so much and I see the difference between him talking and Rampage talking trash.
Rampage comes from confidence and Evans just wants to get on rampages nerves and going over the line.
I used to like Evans but he is childish prick


Rampage is calm as . I saw the staredown from yesterdays press conference and interview after.
Evans wanted to kill Quinton with the way he was looking at him. rampage was like whatever and if he stays calm all the way to walking into the cage I know that in the cage he will be an animal.

I want Rampage to destroy Evans

[polandprzem]

ahh and yea I had a dream last night that rampage knocked Evans out and rashad was sitting in the corner with his hand on a head thinking what mistake he just made ...