It may have been overshadowed by Rich Franklin’s one-punch KO of Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 (it’s pretty hard to top the magnitude of that…Liddell was on Entourage after all…) but another of the card’s big stories was Evan Dunham’s decision win over Tyson Griffin, as it spoke volumes about the undefeated fighter’s potential. The Oregon fighter has now gone 4-0 in the Octagon and also holds wins over TUF winner Efrain Escudero, Marcus Aurelio, and Per Eklund; people are starting to talk…
Now, if you haven’t closely monitored Dunham’s career and don’t want to take our word for it, consider what Kenny Florian said recently on ESPN’s MMA Live (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quote).
“Dunham beat one of the most successful lightweights out there, one of the toughest lightweights out there, and now he is an upper-echelon lightweight, no doubt about it,” Florian said.
Florian also credited Dunham for his jiu-jitsu and takedowns, praising the lightweight for his ability to take Griffin down (who knows a thing or two about wrestling) and controlling him there. In other words, based on the performance, it would appear as though Dunham has the tools to give a lot of guys trouble. Just a refresher, Griffin’s only other losses thus far in the UFC came against current champ Frankie Edgar, and former champ, Sean Sherk. Not bad.
Speaking of Florian, the UFC confirmed yesterday that, as expected, he’ll fight Gray Maynard, at UFC 118 in Boston. Wicked awesome no?