Rashad Evans returns to the Octagon for the first time since dropping his bid to regain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Jon Jones last April. He will stand across the cage from Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.The two highly ranked light heavywe…
Rashad Evans returns to the Octagon for the first time since dropping his bid to regain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Jon Jones last April. He will stand across the cage from Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
The two highly ranked light heavyweights will meet in the evening’s co-main event.
It is yet another long layoff for the former champion. Thankfully for him, he has experience fighting after a long time away from competitive action.
Evans will have a tall task ahead of him on Saturday night. Nogueira is a tough, durable veteran who has good boxing and even better jiu-jitsu. If Evans wants to pick up the win, he will need to be on top of his game.
Here are four reasons you should cheer on Evans as he tries to get back in the title picture.
At UFC 156, the world’s largest combat sports organization returns to pay-per-view for an epic supercard headlined by a featherweight championship bout between champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar,In October, these two were …
At UFC 156, the world’s largest combat sports organization returns to pay-per-view for an epic supercard headlined by a featherweight championship bout between champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar,
In October, these two were scheduled to meet, however the dreaded injury bug took a bite out of Aldo, pushing the main event back four months. On Saturday night, Edgar holds the rare opportunity to become the third multi-division champion in UFC history.
The main card is littered with important matchups that have title implications. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at one of the most anticipated cards of 2013.
In the promo for this weekend’s UFC 156, Joe Rogan’s voice can be heard describing the greatness of Jose Aldo, as action clips of the featherweight champion brutalizing past opponents play in a stylized montage.Shortly after Rogan poses a question as t…
In the promo for this weekend’s UFC 156, Joe Rogan‘s voice can be heard describing the greatness of Jose Aldo, as action clips of the featherweight champion brutalizing past opponents play in a stylized montage.
Shortly after Rogan poses a question as to who can possibly challenge the Brazilian star in his weight class, Frankie Edgar appears with the response, “I’ve heard this story before.”
And it’s true.
All promotional selling points aside, the challenge of toppling a dominant champion is one the Toms River-native has faced in the past. Coming into his first opportunity to compete for the lightweight title at UFC 112, Edgar squared off with B.J. Penn, a man who had appeared damn-near invincible at 155 pounds.
Defeating “The Prodigy” sent a shock wave throughout the MMA world. So much in fact, Edgar had to turn around and do it again several months later at UFC 118. In the second go-around with the former two-division champion, the 31-year-old left no questions on the table, as he walked away with his first title defense in a one-sided victory over Penn.
It’s been nearly three years since “The Answer” turned the sport on its ear. During that time, the former wrestling standout from Clarion University forged a championship legacy of his own, showing a level of grit and determination to represent the very fabric upon which the sport of mixed martial arts was built.
An undersized frame and an outsized will to win made for an amazing storyline, as the perpetual underdog continued to prove himself as one of the best fighters in the world.
But after two close decision losses to Benson Henderson, and the title he once coveted now gone, Edgar prepares to begin the next chapter of his career as a featherweight.
In proper Edgar fashion, his first challenge will be to dethrone another man who has dominated the weight class he champions. The matchup is being billed as a “super fight”, and while Edgar acknowledges the attention surrounding the tilt, he is simply ready to handle business.
“This is just another big fight for me,” Edgar told Bleacher Report. “You don’t want to put too much emphasis on any one fight and you just want to go in there and do what you have to do. There has never been a fight where I haven’t shown up and brought my best. That is what I’m going to do in this fight. I’m bringing my best into the cage and I’m going to bring that featherweight title home with me.”
The talk of Edgar making the drop down to featherweight has swirled for years. In a division where some of the top competition cuts upwards of 25 pounds to make the weight, Edgar was always the smaller competitor and historically cut very little weight to come in under the set limit.
UFC President Dana White commented on numerous occasions that he would like to see Edgar drop down a weight class, and now that this has become reality, the former lightweight champion has found a new sense of motivation in the process.
“It’s really been all positive,” Edgar described about his weight cut. “It just forced me to put better stuff into my body and it has kind of made me a better athlete. I’m more disciplined and it gave me more purpose. To be honest it has been refreshing, because it gave me something different to do. I would never go as far to say cutting weight is pleasurable, but there hasn’t been a situation where I’m feeling it or fatigued. It’s been all good.”
In a career spent scrapping it out on the sport’s biggest stage, perhaps the biggest challenge of Edgar’s career will come this Saturday night against Jose Aldo at UFC 156. “Junior” is considered one of MMA’s pound-for-pound best and presents a unique set of problems for any opposition he faces.
The young Brazilian phenom brings a powerful striking game into the cage and has made highlight-reel material out of those who have challenged his spot atop the division.
In past cases, speed has made the biggest difference. While Aldo has stated in past interviews that he believes the transition to featherweight will affect Edgar’s speed, the New Jersey native believes otherwise.
“I think my speed is going to transition well,” Edgar said. “[Aldo] keeps talking about how I’m not going to be as quick as I was, but really, he is the bigger guy. I’m going to be the smaller guy in this fight, and I think I’m going to be the quicker one as well. I’m not too worried about that aspect of the fight.
“I think he’s fought some good guys in the past, but I’m probably the biggest name he’s fought to date. The guys he has fought, Aldo has pretty much just ran through them. That won’t be the case on Saturday night.”
This weekend in Las Vegas, Edgar will once again find himself in a position to show and prove. For a fighter who has come out on top, against all odds, time and time again, it becomes believable when Edgar addresses his upcoming battle as just the next big thing on his path.
While the bout with the Brazilian wunderkind is about to arrive front and center, there is still much more to come before the book is closed on Edgar’s career.
Whether that story includes a trip back up to chase his former crown or a championship run at 145 pounds remains to be seen, but nevertheless, Edgar lives for the big fight moment and is excited for what the future holds.
“I’m at the point in my career where I have a lot of options, and I like to fight in the biggest fights,” Edgar said. “If those come at 145 pounds or 155 pounds it doesn’t matter to me. If it is something Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] want and the fans are behind it, then I’m game.
“I absolutely think the best is ahead of me,” Edgar added. “I’m 31 but it doesn’t feel like I’m in my 30s at all. This past camp I felt tremendous, and there are plenty of years of fight left in me. I just want to put on big fights for the fans and finish this career off strong.”
UFC 156 is one of the most stacked cards in UFC history. There is so much star power on the event that a stellar lightweight battle between Evan Dunham and Gleison Tibau has been relegated to the FX preliminary card.Tibau will be making his 18th UFC ap…
UFC 156 is one of the most stacked cards in UFC history. There is so much star power on the event that a stellar lightweight battle between Evan Dunham and GleisonTibau has been relegated to the FX preliminary card.
Tibau will be making his 18th UFC appearance in this fight against a man who was once considered the brightest prospect at 155 pounds.
With Dunham earning Fight of the Night bonuses in three of his last five encounters, this is undoubtedly a can’t-miss fight that promises fireworks.
Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of Evan Dunham vs. GleisonTibau.
Flyweight title contender Ian McCall doesn’t have very high praise to give to UFC star and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.Seemingly, “Suga” is somewhat of a downer in person.That’s the story taken from a couple of passing altercations w…
Flyweight title contender Ian McCall doesn’t have very high praise to give to UFC star and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.
Seemingly, “Suga” is somewhat of a downer in person.
That’s the story taken from a couple of passing altercations with “Suga” over the years, as McCall tells MMA Mania that Evans is a “dick” who doesn’t like to interact with fans or his fellow fighters.
During a recent episode of MMA Mania’s Verbal Submissionpodcast, McCall detailed the following story as he heavily criticized the UFC 156 co-main eventer:
I’ve even had run-ins or altercations with Rashad where he was just a dick. He just doesn’t connect with fans. Even my nephew was like, “Wow, that guy’s an asshole,” and my nephew’s like a kid at the time.
That reputation seems to have followed Evans for at least a few years, even stretching back to his early days on Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter.
According to McCall, the Blackzilians camp leader was even visibly reluctant to interact with fans back at WEC 38 in January 2009, citing some “rude” antics during a photo request:
I was fighting in the WEC when I fought Dominick Cruz in San Diego. We were walking to the lobby and my brother and nephew were there with like Jens Pulver and a few other guys. Jens puts his arm around everybody wanting to take a picture. My nephew asked Rashad specifically and he literally stood like 2-3 feet apart from everybody, not engaging with anyone. I don’t know where the picture is now but it was a really awkward picture. I’ve heard from a lot of people that he’s just standoffish and kinda rude. You never know, he could be a great person in real life, but I’m just saying what I saw. That’s what I saw.
Of course, just about any celebrity like Rashad Evans will have his fair share of detractors.
During his career, “Suga” has been a willing part of various fan events, meet-and-greets, autograph signings and various other fan-related activities.
However, random spats will always stick out, like an infamous moment where he refused to sign a picture of himself getting knocked out by LyotoMachida, even crushing the fan’s photograph (H/T MiddleEasy) before shooing him away.
Regardless of his persona, Evans still manages to be one of the top draws in the UFC, and will supplement a heavily stacked main card at UFC 156 on Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Evans will face the dangerous Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, looking to rebound off a one-sided loss to champion Jon Jones.
– How likely is it that Edgar will become the third UFC fighter in history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to become a UFC champion in a second weight division?
– Is anybody buying the idea that Bigfoot’s size and power will be a challenge for Overeem?
– What would Rashad Evans need to do, hypothetically, to convince you that he deserves another crack at Jon Jones?
– The UFC injury curse has been eerily quiet lately, with very few withdrawals of marquee fighters over the past two months. So, were Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta justified in throwing those virgins into the volcano?
And now that we have your attention, you might as well watch this stuff too…
– How likely is it that Edgar will become the third UFC fighter in history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to become a UFC champion in a second weight division?
– Is anybody buying the idea that Bigfoot’s size and power will be a challenge for Overeem?
– What would Rashad Evans need to do, hypothetically, to convince you that he deserves another crack at Jon Jones?
– The UFC injury curse has been eerily quiet lately, with very few withdrawals of marquee fighters over the past two months. So, were Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta justified in throwing those virgins into the volcano?
And now that we have your attention, you might as well watch this stuff too…
Here’s the trailer for Bobby Razak‘s upcoming documentary on MMA fighter Amanda Lucas, including some choice quotes from her father, Star Wars creator George Lucas.
And finally: The Diaz brothers get pulled over by officer Steven Seagal, and Ariel Helwani teleports into Johny Hendricks‘s living room. Thanks, prebek.
In the promo for this weekend’s