HENDO Last 4 fights: - Impressive win over top 5 lhw Shogun Rua - TKO1 of Fedor Emelianenko at hw - KO of Strikeforce champion Feijao - 1st round KO of Babalu RASHAD Last 4 fights: - Round 2 TKO of shot-to-**** late stand-in Tito Ortiz - Boring wrestle-hump decision over Rampage - Boring wrestle-hump decision over Thiago Silva - Stankylegged into oblivion by Jones's latest victim, Lyoto Machida Who you got? :blood
Why the criticism of Evans' gameplan against Rampage? Would you choose to stand in the pocket with Rampage at this point in his career, when he has no interest to take a fight to the ground? Anyways, it's a fairly **** question considering what Hendo has done lately. It says more about the posters dislike of Evans than the legitimacy of the argument.
Rashad did **** all on the ground against Rampage. If he'd actually used his grappling to set up some decent offense, I wouldn't be criticizing, but he wrestled-humped his way to a boring, safe decision. IMO, that type of performance doesn't get you title shots.
I say Hendo for the reasons you have said, he had a great year. Not complaining at Rashads tactics though, I just think Hendo had a better year and so should be rewarded with a title shot.
What I'm saying is that Rampage has gotten lazy. He only wants to trade bombs now. It would be crazy for Evans to take any chances with a guy who just lays there. He's a wrestler first, so he's comfortable there. Rampage just lays there, so why expend any real energy when you have to use your movement to keep Rampage from finding a range and sustaining it to do any damage on his feet. Most importantly, Evans lives in a world where that does get you title shots so he'd be dumb to take any chances he doesn't need to. Hate the game, not the player, in this instance, anyway.
I just disagree completely. Perhaps you are more pragmatic than me. I view combat sports, both boxing and MMA, as a sport for risk-takers who dare to be great and who go for glory. Every fight is an opportunity to try and win as emphatically as possible. All of my favourite fighters (and I'd argue, the vast majority of the ATG fighters) have this mindset. You may be able to do something in a safe mode, but it's not as impressive or valuable as if you do your utmost to achieve the best performance possible. That's just my belief, fair enough if you disagree.
I say Hendo, because his time is passing quickyl considering his age. He has a good enough case to be considered as a challenger. Rashad was supposed to fight Jones a couple times already, so that is obviously overdue. But since he is still young enough to wait for Hendo first, that should be no issue. Unless we just have Hendo vs Rashad 1st.
I don't disagree. Evans, though, knows that you make money by fighting big names and wearing the belt. THat's where the money is. He plays it safe and the judges reward him for it. That builds up a nice record and Dana White rewards him for it. If it reaps him the rewards, it's a valuable performance for him. He probably should fight to what the fans want, but if he doesn't have to, why should he? His style will enable him to fight for a long time and make some good money by doing so. At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, he's climbing in that cage and taking a risk that always exists, no matter how safe he tries to play it. I respect that. Whether or not we like how he goes about doing it is not the defining factor in how he goes about doing it.
I still disagree. GSP is being much safer now (Shields, Alves, Hardy) than he once was (Hughes II + III, Serra II, Fitch), and I believe it is his performances in the latter batch of fights listed which earned him the status he now enjoys, and will be the performances which define his legacy. Rashad may keep himself "in Dana's mix" with his stink-the-place-out safety-first displays, but ultimately they will not do him much credit.
Depends on what Rashad's concerns are. If making money and getting some fame is what drives him, he's a genius.
Not really. He could be in WWE free from the danger of getting badly beaten up, or doing any number of other things.
