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Rashad Evans v. Phil Davis
Doctor Law: As you will also read in the prediction below mine, Kid Presentable and I are huge fans of Phil Davis. We met the guy after the infamous Fedor v. Werdum card in June 2010. He was the ONE black guy leaving the HP Pavilion among a sea of Vietnamese people (San Jose, CA…look up the demographics). No one else noticed Mr. Wonderful and he was wearing a shirt that said “I’m a keeper” on the front. Combine that with the fact that he wears pink fight shorts and took his nickname from a cat he had while he was in college and we were sold. I hate to pick against him, but I think Rashad is going to absolutely murk him. It’s true, Phil Davis has the advantage in terms of amateur wrestling credentials. That being said, Rashad is arguably the best “MMA wrestler” in the light heavyweight division. He has been able to take down anybody he’s wanted to. Phil Davis, on the other hand, had way too difficult a time getting Lil Nog down. Additionally, Phil Davis' striking is still fairly rudimentary and it’s unlikely that he has made huge strides in that area. Rashad has a few highlight reel KOs on his record and has been the #1 contender since May 2010. He’s going to finally get that shot after this win.
Rashad by 3rd round TKO.
Kid Presentable: Mr. Wonderful is one of my favorite fighters on the planet straight up. Ever since I met him a little bit back, I've rooted major for the guy. That said, this fight is too much too soon. Of course it is possible that Davis has taken a Daniel Cormier like leap in striking ability in his time off since his last fight, but on paper it just doesn't seem like a great matchup. Rashad while not as credentialed a wrestler as Davis, has been one of the best MMA wrestlers in recent history. In his fight with Tito Ortiz, Rashad had also put on some noticeable size and strength and savaged Ortiz with a knee to the abdomen. Rashad had been notoriously on the smaller side of fighters at light heavyweight and many calls were made that he should think about middleweight, but he's now walking around rocking him some Overeem shoulders. Davis is a tremendous wrestler and ever-improving in his overall game, but I see this fight playing out by there being a cancelation of wrestling between these two for the most part and it coming down to Rashad's greater speed and striking with Rashad ultimately ground and pounding his way to a victory. On one last note though, Davis is a very reasonable underdog as the universe and Jon Jones like to spit on Evans' hopes of ever getting another title shot. So there is a reasonable chance for Davis winning by karmic screw job.
Rashad by TKO round 3.
DJ Mark with a “K”: Rashad looked awesome in his last fight with Tito Ortiz. That’s not saying too much considering how Tito looked during the last few years (Bader win #dealwiththedevil). Phil will be a tough challenge, but I still think the kid's a bit too raw to pull out a win over the always #1 contender Rashad Evans. It’ll be interesting to see where the fight takes place. I think we might be seeing a lot of stand up as the wrestling from each fighter might cancel each other out. I think Rashad’s stand up has evolved more than Davis’s and I think he might be able to pull off a couple round sealing takedowns as well.
Rashad by Decision.
Lavender Gooms: Alright UFC, here’s chance #2. You’ve already learned from your first foray in televising fights on broadcast TV by airing MORE THAN ONE FIGHT. I’m not sure why people are always booing Evans at UFC cards. He doesn’t really talk a lot of crap and he always seems respectable and articulate in his interviews. The tale of the tape tells one story. While Evans was good, Davis was a better college wrestler, possesses more natural talent, and is larger and is likely stronger than Evans. Where Evans holds an edge is in his experience. Compared to Evans’ amount of experience, Davis is still a neophyte when it comes to MMA. Rashad has become a much better striker since entering the UFC and holds a clear advantage there. Evans has also fought many more high level opponents and this will be Davis’ toughest challenge yet. If Evans tries to turn this into a wrestling match, I believe Davis will dominate, but Evans is smarter than that and will pick his spots in the stand up.
Evans by decision.
Picking Evans: Dr. Law, Kid P, DJ Mark, Gooms
Picking Davis:
(More predictions and highlights from Thursday's press conference after the jump)
