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UFC ON FOX FIGHT RESULTS
CHICAGO, January 28 –Rashad Evans knocked Phil Davis
from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday night with a conservative
five round performance in the UFC on FOX main event at the United
Center, but he will probably need to take more risks when he faces
friend-turned rival Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight crown.
The title bout may take place April 21 in Atlanta, Evans’ post-fight
medical report permitting.
Uncharacteristically playing it safe, Evans rarely tried to unload
heavy leather on Davis, despite clearly owning superior standup
skills to his less experienced foe. Perhaps it was Evans’s way of
respecting the explosive wrestling skills of Davis, a former NCAA
champ at Penn State University. Or perhaps it was also the pressure
of another title shot on the line.
“I fought at a pretty high pace. I felt like I wanted to put him
away but I just couldn’t land those big punches,” said Evans
(22-1-1), who won his fifth straight since losing the world title to
Lyoto Machida at UFC 98. “I’m excited. The monkey has been on my
back; it was hard to get up for this fight because everybody kept
asking about that fight (with Jon Jones). But I got my shot and I’m
very excited.”
Though cautious offensively, Evans was masterful defensively, pretty
much deflecting most of Davis’s strikes and takedowns. The exception
came in round four, when Davis landed a nice kick to the body and
left hand to the face, and in the third round, when Davis (9-1)
recorded two takedowns. A big key for Evans was making Davis pay for
low kicks by scoring takedowns and ground and pound. In the first
round, Evans’s strongest, he trapped Davis on the canvas and
unloaded punches before Davis escaped.
Judges awarded the bout to Evans via scores of 50-45 across the
board.
In the evening’s co-main event, Chael Sonnen, the UFC’s
silver-tongued and beloved Big Mouth, once again backed up his
over-the-top smack talk with a smothering win over a feisty Michael
Bisping, setting the stage for one of the most anticipated rematches
in MMA history.
Anderson Silva: Penny for your thoughts?
While the newly-minted top contender has contended the UFC
middleweight champ wants no parts of a sequel, UFC president Dana
White has said that if Sonnen prevailed there would be a rematch at
a soccer stadium in Brazil later this year.
Triumphant in five of his past six bouts, Sonnen did not immediately
afterwards call out Silva, the only fighter to beat him in the past
three years. But he left no doubt as to his own grandeur and place
in the UFC hierarchy when commentator Joe Rogan attempted to
interview him inside the Octagon.
“Joe Rogan, tonight is not for questions for me, tonight is about
questions for you,” Sonnen said with the royal air of a king. “I
want to know how you feel being inches away from greatness? Do you
not have chills down your spine? You’re in Chael’s Octagon, holding
Chael’s microphone … When you’re the greatest fighter they got a
name for you -- Chael Sonnen. Beat me if you can.”
Originally slated to face Mark Munoz (who dropped out two weeks ago
with an elbow injury that required surgery), Sonnen had his hands
full with Bisping (22-4), who had been victorious in four straight
entering the contest. The well-rounded Brit is notoriously difficult
to take down and hold down, and he gave Sonnen fits in rounds one
and two in that regard. But Sonnen did get his takedowns, did score
with punches on top, and never let Bisping get into the
stick-and-move groove that would have been ideal for the British
star. Rather, as he does with every opponent, Sonnen largely
cornered
Bisping and made him fight in close quarters and in the clinch.
Bisping was solid in the clinch (with knees and dirty boxing) and
occasionally landed combinations, but the ultra-aggressive Sonnen
held his own there and also landed timely right hands and straight
lefts. The crowd sporadically showered Sonnen with “U-S-A!” chants.
Quite simply, Sonnen made Bisping fight his fight, leading to a
unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
In other main card action:
DEMIAN MAIA VS. CHRIS WEIDMAN
Fighting on only two weeks’ notice, undefeated Chris Weidman eked by
former No. 1 contender Demian Maia via unanimous decision in what
qualifies as the signature win of his career and a big statement to
the rest of the division.
Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice
A replacement for Michael Bisping, the New Yorker predominantly
exchanged blows with the Brazilian, though it was Weidman’s several
takedowns that may have swayed judges in the closely contested
opening two rounds. When he did take Maia down, Weidman wisely
Maia threw a lot of left hands, and when they landed they mostly hit
Weidman’s head, perhaps hurting Maia’s hand more than Weidman’s
head. The standup action was steady, perhaps explaining why both
fighters were fighting on fumes by midway into the third round. On
the most rubbery of legs, they barely seemed able to stand. |
