Despite the bad blood that exists between light heavyweight contenders Rashad “Suga” Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Evans still thinks that Rampage has what it takes to beat Matt “The Hammer” Hamill at the main event of UFC 130.
In speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Suga actually said that he is a fan of Hamill’s and would love to see him crack the top 10 among UFC light heavyweights with an upset in Las Vegas.
“But I think Rampage should get it done,” Evans admitted. “If he goes in there with his mind right, I think Rampage will win the fight.”
However, Evans was not ready to count Hamill out of the fight.
“It all depends though. I haven’t heard anything out of his camp, as far as how he’s mentally doing. Rampage is all mind. Sometimes if he goes in there and his mind isn’t right, it’s almost like he throws a tantrum just by not fighting the way he can.”
Both Rampage and Hamill have went on the record saying they expect a high-profile fight after posing a dominant win on Saturday, May 28.
Duff Holmes, Hamill’s trainer and manager, has stated that he thinks The Hammer deserves another crack at Jon Jones with a win against Rampage.
Hamill is the sole fighter to own a professional victory over “Bones,” although he was thoroughly being dominated by the current light heavyweight champion before Jones got disqualified for illegal “12 to 6” elbow strikes.
Holmes rationalized that a rematch would make sense since a documentary about Hamill’s life comes out around October, when Jones is expected to return to action.
The release of Hamill’s movie would only add to the hype of the title fight, Holmes added.
Of course, none of that matters unless Hamill can get past Jackson.
Evans, who beat Jackson via unanimous decision almost exactly one year ago (May 29, 2010), feels that Hamill is capable of beating Rampage the same way, but not without first modifying at least one aspect of his fight game:
“For Hamill to win, he’s going to have to bring his punches back,” Evans said. “One thing Hamill does is he leans on his punches. When he throws the jab, he leans on it. Rampage is very good at the counter punch because he catches whatever you throw and, if you don’t bring it right back, he’s going to hit where you just left that punch.”
Evans, one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the division, feels that Hamill would be making a mistake by keeping the fight standing for long. He isn’t banking on Hamill taking Rampage down at will, either.
“So, if Hamill is leaning on his jab, Rampage is going to catch it, he’s going to roll and he’s going to land the right. Can Hamill take Rampage down? Probably. But Rampage is hard to take down. He’s probably got the strongest hips I’ve felt at 205.”
While Evans gave Hamill plenty of credit, and at least a fighting chance to win, he stuck by his original pick of Rampage in the end.
Last time he (Rampage) was real quiet before a fight was when he fought Wanderlei Silva, and it didn’t turn out well for Wanderlei,” Evans said. “Looks like he might be focused for this one.”
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