For a guy who didn’t taste
defeat until his 15th fight as a professional mixed martial arts
fighter, Rashad “Suga” Evans has had his share of hard times lately.
For the first time in his MMA
career, Evans is coming off consecutive losses, and there are some who even
think “The Ultimate Fighter” season two alumni’s best days are behind him.
That’s probably because of the
lackluster performance he had during his last outing, when he squared up
against Antônio Rogério “Little Nog” Nogueira at UFC 156. Rashad had arguably
his worst performance to date in the UFC, barely landing any strikes, completing
only one of his five takedown attempts.
The result: a unanimous
decision victory for Nogueira.
The lackluster performance
ended lucrative offers that were on the horizon for Evans, like potentially
dropping down to the middleweight division to challenge current champion
Anderson Silva for his belt.
Fortunately for Evans, he’ll
get a chance to redeem himself when he headlines the UFC 161 fight card with
Dan “Hendo” Henderson on June 15, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Canada.
“I had a chance to compete
against some of the best mixed martial artists of all-time: Chuck Liddell,
Forrest Griffin, [Lyoto] Machida, [Quinton] Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Jon
Jones, now Dan Henderson,” Evans said during a UFC 161 promo. “I’m excited
about the opportunity to fight Dan Henderson. He’s definitely on the top of
that list of some of the best and some of the hall of famers I’ve competed
against.”
Rashad understands his
reluctance to engage during his bout against Nogueira played a role in how the
Octagon-side judges scored their clash, so he plans to be a lot more aggressive
when he squares up against Henderson.
“I know what I need to do to
get the results that I want to get,” Evans added. “Takedown, ground-n-pound,
roll up our sleeves and get dirty, go to work. I’m gonna try to get fifty
takedowns this fight. Fifty! If I get him down on the ground, I want to
ground-n-pound him till he’s done.”
Like Rashad, Henderson is also
coming off a loss (to Machida), so the Pride FC veteran will also look to make
a strong statement at UFC 161. Hendo’s wrestling just might be good enough to
force a standup battle, and we all know that he has more than enough power to
put anyone to sleep if he connects with his right hand.
Rashad obviously doesn’t need
anyone to remind him about Henderson’s power.
“Dan’s right hand is very
dangerous, he knocks everybody out hard. He just knocks them the hell out and
they sleep for a long time,” Evans said. “I’m not going to go in there and
stand in front of him and try bang it out and hope to God I don’t get hit with
that big right hand. I’m going to be smart. He’s gonna want to knock me out. It’s
not gonna happen. He’s not knocking me out.”
While some might be ready to
close the curtain on Evan’s UFC career, Suga insists he still has a lot left in
his tank. Becoming a world champion once again remains his primary goal.
“I’m not going anywhere. I may
have stumbled a little bit, fell down, but I get back up, dust myself off,”
Evans concluded. “I’m a top competitor. I deserve a chance to fight for the
belt.” (Source)
