May 29th, 2010 is the day of reckoning for two of the biggest stars in MMA today; Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. These two superstars are scheduled to step into the octagon and settle their differences like the MMA athletes they are and should be. In the locked cage. These two individuals cannot be more different in their lifestyles and paths it took them to get where they are today. On one end you have the Memphis Tennessee born Jackson that grew up, well lets just say he didn't always have a full stomach and new pair of shoes all the time as a kid or adolescent. On the other, you have a bright smiling 2 time all-state wrestler from Sanborn, NY who had a total of 8 siblings including himself. Both these athletes have their similarities such as the wrestling background. Both wrestled in high school and both graduated with All-State honors, but I think the similarities pretty much stop there. Their paths to the MMA world are very different. Jackson originally wanted to break into professional wrestling, but instead he saw the success that fighters in a new type of sport called MMA, were having. Jackson was able to start off his MMA career with a 11-1 record with smaller organizations such as King of the Cage and others. It was when Jackson left the states and went to Japan to fight for Pride in 2001 when his popularity grew. In Pride he was able to showcase his skills to a large MMA audience, and get his first taste of being a star. The Rampage slams were my favorite! I know we all cannot forget those battles Jackson had with Wanderlei Silva in those Pride days. Jackson did very well in Japan and was able to grow his popularity in the sport of MMA. On February 3, 2007 Jackson made his UFC debut as he battled against Marvin Eastman, and Jackson knocked him out. Jackson was able to grab the UFC lightweight title from Chuck Liddell on May 26th, 2007 via TKO. Jackson's title reign was short lived after he lost a decision to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Rampage Jackson has a multitude of experience in this game called MMA.
Rashad Evans path to greatness started out around the time MMA was trying to make its splash into mainstream. Evans started his MMA career like most. He fought in the smaller organizations and built up an impressive 5-0 record in his first 5 fights. This was enough to get him a shot at being a contestant on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. Evans went in as a heavy weight and was much smaller than the rest of the contestants. That size difference did not matter, because at the end of the show Evans was to be in the final fight against Brad Imes. It was a long hard fight but Evans eventually won by split decision, taking the UFC contract and trophy with him . After the show Evans went on winning and winning and winning. Evans soon got a chance at the lightweight title. He beat Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 to take the title. His title reign was also short lived as he lost it to Lyoto Machida who was tearing up all opponents that he faced.
These fighters were then chosen to be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter season 10. If you did not get a chance to watch this season then you missed out! In this season both of these fighters really got under each others skin, there was a lot of trash-talk throughout the whole season. I really think that the hate for each other started after Jackson defeated Evans team mate Keith Jardine at UFC 96. After Jackson won by unanimous decision Evans stepped into the cage and both fighters met face to face and a verbal assault began. Both fighters took shots at each other and the heated rivalry ensued. Now that we have a little background of each fighter, lets take a look at how I think the fight will go and what both fighters bring to the cage.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson: Jackson brings a highly emotional and aggressive style. He brings with him power in both hands and a solid wrestling base and crazy slams. Jackson typically stalks his opponents down and looks to land one of those devastating right or left hooks to the head. If he does land one of those bombs, its lights out!
Rashad Evans: Evans is quick and has great wrestling. We have not seen Evans use his wrestling much in the past but when he faced Thiago Silva we did. Silva is a devastating puncher with power in both hands. Evans was able to frustrate Silva by staying close and taking him down. Evans made sure to stay away from Silva's power and kept the fight on the ground. I think that Evans will come into the fight looking to stay away from Jackson's power and keep his back to the mat. Evans will look to play it safe and take Jackson down. Evans has stated that if he is winning the exchanges he will continue to stand. I don't believe he will do that, because the moment he feels the power of Jackson, Evans will want to stay close and attempt take downs. The longer Evans keeps it on the feet the better chance Jackson has to land that Bomb.
I know there is a lot of hype behind this fight and we're all looking forward to an all out war. I also would like to see them both just stand and trade punches, but I don't think that will happen. My opinion is that Evans will do whatever it takes not to get knocked out. Evans will play it safe, stick to his game plan and use a lot of movement. Evans will use his wrestling and try to keep Jackson on his back. I think Jackson can win if he can stuff those take downs and give Evans a taste of his power, and put Evans back up against the cage. If Jackson can get that done then I don't see this fight lasting that long. I see this fight going all rounds with Rashad Evans declared the winner.
Below are my picks for UFC 114:
Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
Winner: Rashad Evans by Split Decision
Dan Miller vs. Michael Bisping
Winner: Michael Bisping by TKO in the 3rd
Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
Winner: Todd Duffee by TKO in the 1st
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz
Winner: Antonio Nogueira by Sub in the 2nd
Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway
Winner: Diego Sanchez by TKO in the 1st
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Amir Sadollah
Winner: Amir Sadollah by Unanimous Decision
Dan Lauzon vs. Efrain Escudero
Winner: Efrain Escudero by Sub in the 2nd
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