While Rashad Evans rolls the dice with his title ambitions at UFC 133, the Grispi Effect lurks in the shadows looking to make him pay.
What is the Grispi Effect?
The Grispi Effect is a phenomenon based off UFC featherweight Josh Grispi, who lost his title shot on January 1.
Grispi was scheduled to challenge featherweight champion Jose Aldo on the UFC 125 card, but Aldo had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.
Instead of waiting around for his hard-earned title shot, Grispi decided to still compete on the card against Dustin Poirier. Despite his attempts to keep warm, Grispi’s performance was cold as Poirier picked up the upset in a lopsided decision.
The woes of the 22-year-old Grispi continued at the Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale, where he was stopped in the third round by George Roop.
In a little over five months time, Grispi went from contender to being on the UFC chopping block.
Who else has this affected?
Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis came to the UFC as the top contender for Frankie Edgar’s lightweight title, but the original plans were scrapped when Edgar’s title bout against Gray Maynard ended in a draw at UFC 125.
With no clear timeline for a future title shot, Pettis and the UFC agreed upon a bout against Clay Guida to keep the Taekwondo black belt busy.
UFC President Dana White assured fans that Pettis was the top contender for the UFC title despite a multitude of other candidates. All Pettis had to do was beat Guida at the TUF Season 13 Finale.
It was by no means an easy task, but Guida seemed to always come up short in big moments. Unfortunately for Pettis, that version of Clay Guida is dead and gone. There was nothing flashy about his performance, but Guida was consistent with his takedowns and picked up a workmanlike unanimous decision.
Being slapped with a double dose of reality, Pettis was forced to come to the realization that he needs to work on his takedown defense, and he was no longer the top contender for the lightweight title.
Now, Evans is on deck to face rising star Phil Davis in a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender.
A bout between Evans and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was set for UFC 133, but Jones pulled out of the fight with a hand injury. It was initially thought that Jones would need to undergo surgery to repair the injury, and Evans took a fight with Davis to avoid extending his already long hiatus.
Not long after the Evans and Davis bout was announced, Jones found out that he wouldn’t need surgery to repair his hand, and he would be ready to fight again by October. With Evans already locked into a bout with Davis, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was promoted as the next title contender.
Davis is a really dangerous opponent for Evans. It’s incredibly hard to gage where Davis is at in his young career. He continues to improve with every fight, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decipher his everlasting potential.
After it became known that Jones wouldn’t need surgery, would it have been smarter for the UFC to continue with its original plans of Evans versus Jones and match Davis with Jackson instead?
A bout between Evans and Jones could be deemed a superfight. The amount of drama surrounding this newfound rivalry of former teammates could serve as a perennial slot on daytime television.
Why not strike while the iron is hot? What if Jackson or Davis picks up an upset?
There is never a sure thing in MMA, and if either Jones or Evans incur losses, it would take a lot of steam out of the anticipated grudge match.
For now, fans are forced to wait and see how the altered scenario unfolds.
The Grispi Effect claimed Anthony Pettis. Is Rashad Evans next?
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com