Well, Rashad Evans is here again. Fighting a friend in Chael Sonnen at UFC 167, though the circumstances are different than his much-ballyhooed 2012 tilt with Jon Jones.
He and Chael are, according to both, still friendly. No messy breakup or Et tu Brute moment here.
They haven’t ever been serious training partners together, though they seem to differ on just how much training they’ve actually done. Again, not the same as the Jones/Evans Split of 2012.
And this time, it’s a lot more about who’s going to avoid irrelevance at 205 than it is about who’s going to be on top of the division at the end of the night. In fact, this fight has flown under the radar considering it’s pitting two of the top pay-per-view draws in the company against one another.
So yes, Evans is fighting a friend again. No, it’s not the same.
One thing that is the same, though? There’s reason to believe his opponent wants it more.
We’re living in an unfortunate era of Rashad Evans, one where his athleticism and explosiveness aren’t what they were a few years ago and his ability to produce epic feats of violence have suffered as a result.
There’s no universe where he should lose to Rogerio Nogueira, and given how Dan Henderson has looked his last few times out it should never have been so hotly contested when Evans bested him.
It could be age, it could be the change in camps that came out of the Jones feud, it could be too much time in the Florida sun and too much money already made, but Rashad Evans in 2013 is a long way from Rashad Evans in 2009.
Knowing that, there isn’t a worse guy in the division to see across the cage than Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen has enjoyed a resurgence with both his mouth and his fists in the past few years, propelling himself to the top of two divisions by talking a good game and backing it up anytime a belt wasn’t on the line. He’s as hungry as ever and has actually gotten better with age.
While he’ll say he’s not focused on Evans so much as he is on the act of the fight, it’s classic Sonnen gamesmanship to see the problems his buddy had fighting Jones and try to lull him into a similar mindframe.
If Evans couldn’t show up against Jones, who he genuinely hated by the time they fought, how can he show up against Sonnen and his milquetoast quotes of lacking focus and competition among friends?
And that’s where Sonnen will secure his edge. Evans has said repeatedly that he needs to hate someone to fight them, that he needs to find the thing that boils his blood and blow it up into something physical. He’s also said he’s having a hard time doing that with Chael, usually with a smile on his face.
Evans needs a fight. Chael is giving him a competition.
To Sonnen, a fight is a competitive endeavor. He doesn’t need hate or malice. He’s going to put the same stamp on fight night no matter who’s across the cage, and that’s why he’s steered this bout in that direction. It keeps things out of Rashad‘s wheelhouse and puts it right in his own.
That allows him to stay focused while keeping his opponent at bay, and it improves his chances of success drastically.
In the traditional sense, wanting it more is evident by how hard a guy works. He’s the one doing extra reps or extra rounds, winning the battle on blood, sweat and tears alone. People say “that’s the guy who wants it more” and oftentimes they’re right.
That’s not Sonnen‘s way though. He’s too smart. He knows he doesn’t need more reps or more rounds to win this one, but that he needs to steer the tenor of the fight in a certain direction and then show up ready to compete.
Chael Sonnen wants it more going into Saturday night. Rashad Evans will be the one to decide if he gets it.
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