UFC 114 Recap & Thoughts

Last night at UFC 114 two bitter rivals stepped into the octagon to settle their differences and to gain bragging rights. The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was packed full of MMA fans waiting for these two athletes to step into the cage and take care of business. Rashad Evans was the first to make his way down to the cage. He was welcomed by boo's as he made his way to the cage. Evans did his patent entrance into the cage with that spider like crawl into the cage with lots of energy and focus. He stood in his corner with a face of determination and calmness. Then it was Jackson's turn to make his way to the cage. The crowd exploded in cheers for the Memphis born fighter as he made his way down the aisle. Jackson made his way towards the cage with the snarl look on his face and that famous howl to the sky. As Jackson made his way into the cage he stared down his opponent with a look of bad intentions and anger. Both athletes looked calm, focused and determined to be the better man in this night. Herb Dean brought both fighters to the center of the octagon to give the final instructions. Both fighters not giving an inch in the stare down. No touching of gloves for these to rivals. They both backed up as Herb Dean was making his last check with the judges. The order to fight was given.
1st round: When the fight started Jackson right away made his way towards Evans. Jackson looked very determined to close the gap between him and Evans very quickly. Evans was bouncing around, changing levels making those quick in and out movements that we've come accustomed to seeing from him. At about the 4:45 minute mark Evans caught Jackson with a right hand to the cheek that staggered Jackson and made him stumble to the cage. The crowd jumped up to see if this was going to be the end. Evans quickly rushed towards Jackson, pinning him up against the cage. Their they stood battling it out for position. Evans started to go after Jackson's legs with hammer fists and knees. At the 2:51 mark Herb Dean separated them as no fighter was making progress to gain a dominant position. The fighters then gain their composure and once again start to measure their distance. Around the 2:17 mark Evans lands a great take-down and works to better his position and he delivers strikes to Jackson's head and face. Eventually Rampage works himself up to his feet, taking shots to the face as he tries. The crowd starts to boo the fighters as they both jock for position in the clinch. At this point it looks like Evans game plan is to wear Jackson out by keeping him pressed up against the cage and to lean on him. Wear the bigger fighter out. This is also the time we start to question Jackson's weight cut. With only :28 seconds left Herb Dean separates the fighters again to the delight of the fans and roars fell the arena. The round ends with a good exchange between both fighters. Round looks like it will go to Evans. Between rounds Evans corner reminds him that Jackson is still dangerous.
2nd Round: The second round starts with both fighter in the middle of the cage. The crowd begins to chant for Rampage. Jackson moving in closer to Evans looking to land one of his bombs. Evans starts to move in and out with level changing quickness. Both fighters looking to exchange blows, when Evans rushes Jackson and puts his back right up against the cage again. Evans once again starts to punish Jackson's legs with knees and hammer strikes. As they get separated Evans works right back to the clinch and attempts his take-downs. Most of round 2 is worked in the clinch and Jackson defending the take-down. Round 2 also belongs to Evans. During the break Jackson's corner tells him that he needs a KO to win. With Evans taking the first 2 rounds this is defiantly what its going to take to win. Evans corner reminds him that even if Jackson is tired he is still dangerous.
Round 3: The 3rd round starts with both fighters in the center of the octagon. Evans making quick movements, keeping his level low. Both fighters are trying to figure out their range as they slap hands trying to gauge the distance. At about the 3:53 mark Jackson catches Evans with a right hand staggering the former champion sending him to his back. The crowd exploded and every one in the MGM Grand Arena was up on their feet. Jackson started to rain down punches as Evans was trying to defend. When I was watching, it seemed like a lot of the punches Jackson was throwing were not finding their mark. Jackson was on top with half guard trying to keep Evans down. Evans eventually made it to his feet, but looked hurt. The fighters separated and Evans looked like there was not much left. Now its about this time in the fight were things went weird. Evans was obviously hurt and his legs were not all there, yet Jackson did not press to finish. There was about a minute or two were Evans looked like he was still dizzy. During this time Jackson did not press or attack the vulnerable Evans. Evans was able to recover and get the bounce back in this legs. About the 1:49 minute mark Evans landed another take-down and followed up with some damaging punches to Jackson's dome. As Evans was bringing down the fist, Jackson worked his way to his feet. It would not be long after getting to his feet that Jackson would end up back to the ground due to a wonderful take-down by Evans. Jackson would make it back to his feet again. Both fighters worked the clinch up until they separated and finished the round with a brief exchange at the end. The 3rd round also belonged to Evans. Everyone in the MGM Grand know who the winner was going to be and so did I. Rashad Evans hand was raised in victory.
Was this the ending that everyone wanted? Who's to say, but I had a pretty good idea that this is how it was going to go. I knew that Evans would stick to his game plan and work the take-downs and avoid to much exchanges. Evans worked his skills and was the better man on this night. It was Evans speed that I think was really a problem for Jackson. I was surprised that Jackson let Evans press him up against the cage for so long. I was thinking that Jackson would of been okay with taking a few to work his clinch game. It seemed that Evans quick in and out movement kept Jackson guessing. This now leaves us thinking, whats next for Rampage? Is there a possible rematch in the making for these two? I would like to see one. Overall it was a good fight. Both fighters had their chances to finish the other fighter. I take my hat off to both of these athletes. This now sets up a confrontation between Shogun Rua and Rashad Evans. Now that will be a fun fight to break down. .
Here is the way the rest of the nights fights went:
Rashad Evans defeats Rampage Jackson via Unanimous Decision
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeats Jason Brilz via Split Decision
This one was very close. A little controversy on this one.
Michael Bisping defeats Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision
Was not very impressed with Bisping's performance in this one. He landed a lot of shots on Miller's face but could not take him out. I was expecting a more agressive Bisping.
John Hathaway defeats Diego Sanchez via Unanimous Decision
I was very surprised by this outcome. Diego really needs to work on his stand-up.
Mike Russow defeats Todd Duffee via TKO (Strikes) Round 3
The most incredale finish in UFC history.
Dong Hyun Kim def. Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision
Efrain Escudero def. Dan Lauzon via unanimous decision
Melvin Guillard def. Waylon Lowe via TKO (strikes) - R1 | 3:28.
Aaron Riley def. Joe Brammer via unanimous decision
Cyrille Diabate def. Luiz Cane via TKO (punches) - R1 | 2:13
Ryan Jensen def. Jesse Forbes via submission (guillotine choke) - R1 | 1:06

UFC 114 Main Event Break Down and Picks

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