Rashad Evans has accomplished a great deal in his UFC career, picking up the light heavyweight strap in the course of 20 fights with the promotion.
The soon-to-be middleweight contender takes on Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 in November in his first bout at 185 pounds, but before he steps into the cage again, Evans will be working the analyst desk for Fox Sports 1 this weekend as the Octagon heads to Portland, Oregon.
Bleacher Report caught up with Evans to get his thoughts on the main event, which pits former two-time flyweight challenger John Dodson against brick-fisted Brazilian John Lineker in a strong matchup of 135-pound contenders.
Bleacher Report: We have a pretty awesome matchup this weekend with Lineker and Dodson, two knockout artists with much different approaches to putting leather on their opponents. What do you see as the big things to watch for here?
Rashad Evans: The big things with Dodson are going to be his speed and his transitions. One thing that gets away from him is falling in love with that power a little bit too much. But if he can stay with that and just be able to create alternatives, being able to take him [Lineker] down, mix that in with his good movement and his power, then this should be his fight.
But Lineker is really good at getting someone to wade inside that pocket, to brawl in the style that he likes really well. He hits really hard from there. If he catches you one time, his recoil back with his left and his right hand is so blisteringly fast that he catches a lot of people off guard. That power puts everybody to sleep.
B/R: Given that both guys hit really hard, do you think Dodson will be able to resist the urge to exchange with Lineker? Especially because Lineker is a guy who leaves his chin out there, if Dodson tags him with a good left hand, can he stop himself from continuing to throw and causing an exchange that favors Lineker?
Evans: No, I don’t think Dodson’s going to be able to resist. He’ll be able to resist after he catches one of those [Lineker] punches and feels the sting of his power, then he’ll be able to resist. He’ll be able to say, “OK, this guy hits hard.”
He [Dodson] wants to be impressive, he wants to hit the reset button on his career in the 135-pound weight class, so he’s going to go out there and try to put on a show. He’s going to try to go inside where Lineker feels safe, but when he feels that power, he’s going to be smarter.
B/R: So you think takedowns will be a big part of that for Dodson, mixing it up, avoiding the brawl?
Evans: Even if he [Dodson] doesn’t take him down, when you’re trying to work for the takedown you end up closing the distance and putting a lot of pressure on the person. It’s still a threat, and you can get him to lower his level. It brings that threat to his mind so he can’t open up with his striking.
In order for the takedown to work at all, you have to at least land one. If you don’t land one, the opponent will feel like there’s really no threat.
B/R: He has to establish it as a credible threat for Lineker to worry about.
Evans: Correct.
B/R: When Dodson was fighting at 125 pounds, the only person he lost to was Demetrious Johnson, but he slowed down badly in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Given that Lineker also pushes a fast pace, do you think Dodson’s at risk of gassing, or is that less of a problem with a smaller weight cut?
Evans: I think Demetrious Johnson brings out a different element and a different kind of pace than anybody is used to handling. His transitions from standup to the ground are like nobody’s in all of MMA. I’d put him up there as pound-for-pound the best in that position.
He brings a really good pace, and Dodson tried to match his pace. He tried to keep it exciting; that’s his style. Whenever you do big moves, big combinations, big techniques, it zaps your energy. Johnson was more consistent with that pace and was able to carry it throughout the fight because he doesn’t open up with big techniques or big fancy moves.
When Dodson was going against a guy like that, he found himself fading as the rounds went on, but with Lineker, I don’t think he’ll have that problem. Lineker isn’t as smooth as Johnson, so some of the things that Little John [Dodson] likes to do will catch and stun Lineker, and keep him on cue a bit more.
B/R: That makes a lot of sense, especially because it’s not just the physical pressure that Johnson puts on you, it’s also a kind of a mental pressure. It’s exhausting to have to think through what he’s doing.
Evans: Exactly. And that mental pressure is really draining. Sometimes, when you do a big technique and it doesn’t work, you think, “OK, let me get my breath back again.” You keep your hands up and you move, but when a guy doesn’t look fazed by it and looks like he’s creating something, now you have to get in defensive mode and that really tires you out.
B/R: Both Dodson and Lineker are just ungodly tough guys with crazy chins, but both have huge power. Do you think either can knock the other out or will this go to a decision?
Evans: I think both can knock the other out. Honestly, I think it’s whoever lands that solid shot. Little John [Dodson] has to be really, really careful exchanging inside the pocket, because like I was saying before, Lineker throws that left hand and right hand faster than anybody I’ve ever seen. He throws that left hook, right hook, left hook again at blazing speed.
It comes from his hips, too. If you ever watch an old-school boxer like Sugar Ray Robinson, it comes from his hips, so he can get a lot of torque on his punches. A lot of fighters just don’t see it coming. Once the hands are low like that, it leaves your view when it goes past your hips, and then you don’t see it when it comes back. That’s why Lineker is so effective in the pocket.
It looks like he’s leaving his chin open, but if you don’t catch him, you’ve got problems, you know?
B/R: That’s a really good point about the combination punching, because if we’re comparing the two fighters, Dodson is a burst-fighter. He’ll go 30 seconds, 45 seconds without doing much, trying to pick his spots to throw the right shot.
By contrast, Lineker has that hair trigger. If you leave any sort of opening or opportunity, he’ll exploit it, and that’s especially dangerous in exchanges. If you’re Dodson, how do you exchange with Lineker responsibly?
Evans: Whenever you exchange with Lineker, you’ve got to make sure you’re not in the areas of the cage where he’s really good at letting go with a barrage of punches. That’s on that black line, where you’re five or six feet before you get to the cage, where he’s most dangerous.
As long as Little John [Dodson] can keep it in the center of the cage, Lineker‘s not as dangerous, because even if he does start throwing combinations of punches, then Little John can get out of the way. But if he [Lineker] can get to the cage, there’s nowhere for Dodson to go, and Lineker‘s going to land punches, where he goes left and right.
B/R: That’s a really interesting point, that Dodson’s evasiveness is going to be an issue for Lineker.
Evans: Yeah. In general, he needs to go after Little John [Dodson]. Part of what makes Little John so effective is that he feels good, he’s happy, he’s having fun. You’ve got to make it a miserable fight for him. You’ve got to make him frustrated and mad, you’ve got to make him fight outside of his fight; giving him room is the wrong thing for Lineker to do.
Get him against the cage, wrestle him, just gum up his technique and he’s going to get frustrated. That’s when Lineker can open up a bit. I think the more space you give a fighter like Little John, the more creative he can get, the more free he can be, he’s going to catch you with something really hard because he’s good at that in and out range.
As Evans presents it, the basic dynamics of the fight will be spacing within the cage and whether Dodson can fight a smart, disciplined fight.
Can Lineker force Dodson to the fence, where he’s most effective with his punching combinations, or will Dodson be able to maintain distance and space?
This is a great bantamweight matchup, and we’ll learn how it plays out on Saturday, October 1, in Portland on Fox Sports 1.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com