Since 2008, Rashad Evans has been a staple of the light heavyweight division and he finally gets the long-awaited title shot he has missed out on for two years.
After beating down on then undefeated title threat Phil Davis in the main event of UFC on Fox 2 at a sold-out United Center in Chicago, Evans has earned another well-publicized title shot. Let’s just hope this fight actually happens now.
As good as Evans looked, he was not able to put Davis away, something that many analysts showed would prove he couldn’t stop current champion Jon Jones.
Evans told the Vancouver Sun about his disappointment about not ending the fight against Phil Davis with a knockout:
I fought at a pace that was a pretty high pace. I felt I wanted to put him away and I just didn’t get a chance to land some big punches. I’m kind of disappointed about it but when you’re fighting a guy as tough as Phil Davis, that can happen.
While it’s true that Davis is one of the best young fighters the UFC has to offer, he is not in the same category as Jones. Many believe that Evans’ struggle to put Davis away proves that he cannot beat the current champ when they eventually meet on April 21.
Jones and Evans have been dancing around each other since 2010 when Jones was selected to replace the injured Evans in his title shot against then champion Mauricio Rua. Since Jones won the title, each fighter has suffered a horribly-timed injury that has forced the two to miss meetings ever since. April 21, 2012 all of the questions will be answered.
UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones said after Evans’ win over Davis:
I’m so excited about fighting Rashad. I can’t wait to get past this chapter of my career. I’ve been calling him the antagonist of my career because of all the hype and all the drama. I’m a happy man. I’m a very happy man right now. I’m excited to retain my title on April 21. I try to look at it as no fight is a big fight, and try not to fight people’s names but to fight people’s bodies. But I think I’m a little more emotionally attached to this fight and it’s going to drive me to train harder than I’ve ever imagined.
This is the fight that the UFC fans have been clamoring for since the first time it was voided. With Jones clearly the best in the division and Evans clearly the next guy in line, this war in the cage will be a battle of wills. The fighter that is hungrier will win this fight.
As much as I love Jones and how he fights, Evans has been on the hunt for a few years now and there isn’t much that could stop the MMA star. While Jones wouldn’t go gently into that good night, it will be a war that Evans ultimately wins.
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