Lil Nog is a very high level boxer. Rashad came in and tried to box with him. With all the other tools he has, why the fuck would he box with him? Terrible strategy, and he seemed content to let it go to the judges.
If we were to play MMA math; Rashad easily outgrappled/outclassed Phil Davis. Davis beat Nog convincingly mainly with his grappling. For Evans to come in and basically get his offense shut down by Nog showed he's not the same fighter in my eyes.
Rashad has fallen in love with his hands and boxing. The problem every wrestler with KO power experiences. Rashad's takedown attempts were predictable and forced. 1 for 5 on takedowns from a renowned wrestler is pathetic.
If last night was an example of the Blackzillians strategic skills then I give them a D-.
So much for Rashad being a perpetual number 2 at LHW. Should never have let his ego getting in the way of fighting at Jackson's.
Are there cases of fighters that seemed to absolutely lose their hunger and then they became hungry again?
Because all fighters that seemed to lose their hunger, ended retiring after a bunch of loses.
Mirko Crocop, BJ Penn, Fedor (even though he retired with 3 wins) and others. They expressed the possibility of retirement. Then they came back, mainly "because they wanted to show that they are still hungry" (Specially mIrko an BJ) and ended failing miserably.
Dana says that rashad needs to get hungry again. I don't know, I think that if a fighter really lost his hunger and he is over 30, it is extremely unlikely that he will get hungry ever again.
Dana says that rashad needs to get hungry again. I don't know, I think that if a fighter really lost his hunger and he is over 30, it is extremely unlikely that he will get hungry ever again.
I'm a fan of Rashad's (and Lil Nog for that matter), but that fight was terrible. Personally, I think now would be a great time for Evans to take another look at dropping to 185. He's definitely a force at 205, but did look like he was lacking that "fire", and a drop to 185 could revitalise him and give him a new hunger.
Coming in to the Tito fight, after over a year out, Evans was motivated and looked different than he had before. He had packed on muscle, but was still fast, and came out looking strong and fluid against Tito. The same in the Davis fight. However, I felt like he looked softer than usual on Saturday, and just didn't look on form at all.
UFC 133 Weigh-in
UFC 156 Weigh-in
I know these photos aren't perfectly comparable (if anyone has a better photo of Evans at the weigh-in, please share), but I just think Evans is showing all the signs of a guy that needs to have his career reinvigorated.
He was going through some personal stuff during the build up and fight with Jones (divorce included). I think his time after that fight he probably he used to deal with those issues, dealing with a disappointing loss to Jones to didn't sit well either. Add that to the retirement thoughts and you got yourself a pretty fucked up Rashad.
He'll be back better than ever, he's a hardworking guy. I don't care to see him drop unless its for a big fight only. He's still easily top 3-4 at lhw imho.
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