UFC 114 Weigh-in stare down between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (L) and Rashad Evans. Speaking via MMAWeekly.com, Evans said:
“Honestly, I think Rampage has a lot better chance than what appears before your eyes. It all depends if Rampage is going to come for this camp. If Rampage is really taking it serious, and he starts training how he needs to train, I think he has a really good chance of beating Machida.”
“One of his strengths is one of Machida’s weaknesses, which is he always pulls back in combinations, he goes in and he pulls back. Rampage has always been good at reaction punches, so if he moves forward, he’s going to charge him and catch him like how he caught Chuck Liddell and how he caught Wanderlei Silva. That’s one of his strengths, if you pull back on Rampage, you’ll get caught all day."
“If Rampage is in shape and can push the pace and make Machida make mistakes when he’s pulling back, he has a very good chance of catching Machida and knocking him out. At the same time, if Rampage is in the center of the cage not moving forward, Machida will pick him apart and pretty much do what he wants to, and probably finish him off within the first two rounds.”
Evans was then asked who he gave the mental edge to heading into this one after both men lost their last fights inside the octagon and once again it was his bitter rival he gave the nod to.
“I think probably Rampage because he’s been there before. He’s lost eight times, so he has the better ability to bounce back from it. The thing about it is I don’t think it’s about the winning and losing, I think it’s about, my question is has Rampage been jaded by the sport enough that he stopped caring about it to train hard? Or has he got his hunger back and remembered why he liked the sport in the beginning?”
“With Machida, is it going to be the Machida that’s a little bit more afraid? Really not looking to engage anymore? Is it going to be a too cautious Machida? When you get knocked out, I kid you not, the first thing you think is like ‘damn, can I take a punch? Then you start thinking about it. It rents a space in your head, and until you get that first good shot, and you think ‘oh, I can take a punch again,’ but when you get knocked out cold that’s what runs through your mind.”
“I had a dream that Rampage knocked out Machida. I had a dream about four nights ago that Rampage knocked him out. I don’t know why I was dreaming about Rampage’s ugly ass in the beginning, but I woke up and it felt like he knocked out Machida, it felt like it was real.”
Speaking via MMAWeekly.com, Rashad Evans said:
“Honestly, I think Rampage has a lot better chance than what appears before your eyes. It all depends if Rampage is going to come for this camp. If Rampage is really taking it serious, and he starts training how he needs to train, I think he has a really good chance of beating Machida.”
“One of his strengths is one of Machida’s weaknesses, which is he always pulls back in combinations, he goes in and he pulls back. Rampage has always been good at reaction punches, so if he moves forward, he’s going to charge him and catch him like how he caught Chuck Liddell and how he caught Wanderlei Silva. That’s one of his strengths, if you pull back on Rampage, you’ll get caught all day."
“If Rampage is in shape and can push the pace and make Machida make mistakes when he’s pulling back, he has a very good chance of catching Machida and knocking him out. At the same time, if Rampage is in the center of the cage not moving forward, Machida will pick him apart and pretty much do what he wants to, and probably finish him off within the first two rounds.”
Evans was then asked who he gave the mental edge to heading into this one after both men lost their last fights inside the octagon and once again it was his bitter rival he gave the nod to.
“I think probably Rampage because he’s been there before. He’s lost eight times, so he has the better ability to bounce back from it. The thing about it is I don’t think it’s about the winning and losing, I think it’s about, my question is has Rampage been jaded by the sport enough that he stopped caring about it to train hard? Or has he got his hunger back and remembered why he liked the sport in the beginning?”
“With Machida, is it going to be the Machida that’s a little bit more afraid? Really not looking to engage anymore? Is it going to be a too cautious Machida
“I had a dream that Rampage knocked out Machida. I had a dream about four nights ago that Rampage knocked him out. I don’t know why I was dreaming about Rampage’s ugly ass in the beginning, but I woke up and it felt like he knocked out Machida, it felt like it was real.”
