One thing has become such a certainty in mixed martial arts that it may as well be written into the laws of the sport: There’s never a guarantee you’ll see Rashad Evans compete when his name is linked to an opponent.
Perhaps the most underrated champion of the UFC’s boom period, Evans was one of the first men to make the jump from The Ultimate Fighter to genuine superstardom. He was a blend of elite athleticism, wrestling chops and steady stand-up improvements, and he eventually became a force to be reckoned with at light heavyweight.
Though he never successfully defended the title after winning it, he may be the best guy no one immediately brings up when talking about the greats of his generation.
Some of that is probably due to inactivity.
Since his 2008 title win, Evans has had delays of eight months or more between fights on four separate occasions. Two of those delays exceeded a year (one of which is still ongoing, unless he signs to fight and then competes within the next 12 days).
Next in line for Evans, should he stay healthy? Well, according to Mookie Alexander of Bloody Elbow, it’s going to be Alexander Gustafsson, the former top contender who was quite literally pushed aside a couple of months back despite the fact he wasn’t even there when the pushing started.
And if Evans can’t make that proposed date? Gustafsson should put up his feet back home in Sweden and wait to see where life takes him. Chances are it’ll take him right to a title shot.
January 3 will see Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier settle their beef, and the man who walks out of Las Vegas with the title that night won’t have a clear contender awaiting him. Light heavyweight has largely been wiped out by the iron-fisted rule of Jones, and only Gustafsson has ever looked good enough in losing to keep his name in title talks.
The proposed Evans bout is targeted for a couple of weeks after the Jones-Cormier duel, but if Evans succumbs to injury or other forces prevent him from stepping into the cage, all bets are immediately off for the rangy Swede. There isn’t another fight that makes sense for him, either as a title eliminator or a tuneup, and doing nothing becomes very much akin to doing something as a result.
That something is landing himself a title fight.
The only reason Gustafsson is considering another fight is because the UFC essentially told him to take one, according to Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com. He doesn’t really need one to re-establish himself as a contender, and fighting Evans is as much about giving him a credible name he can probably beat in a time frame that would keep him in line to fight for the title afterward.
Remove Evans from the equation and the timeline remains the same, only Gustafsson doesn’t have to enter the cage to get his shot. With no other contenders nipping at his heels or trying to snatch his place in line, there’s almost no risk involved.
At this stage in his career, Gustafsson has to take a very specific type of fight. He should either be fighting for a title or fighting a guy who’s held a title while waiting to fight for a title. If he’s not doing either of those things, he should be waiting to do one of them.
Right now, based on circumstance and the nature of the division, only Jones, Cormier and Evans meet those criteria. Other guys just sort of exist around them.
Without Evans, only Jones and Cormier remain, and one of them will eliminate the other in January. Gustafsson‘s path will then be clear.
One way or another, his next fight will be a big one. Who he sees across the cage is the only question left, and that will likely be answered by the health of Evans in the coming weeks.
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