UFC 133: Evans vs. Davis

[Rappy Veteran]

The full UFC 133 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans

Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort

Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara

Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

PRELIMINARY CARD

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya

Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman

Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace

Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce

Riki Fukuda vs. Rafael "Sapo" Natal

Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan

[notta]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Rich is the nicest guy in the sport, but he just doesn't have it anymore. I would rather watch paint dry then watch a Rich Franklin fight. Not being mean, just speaking the truth.

[D. S. Veteran]

Seeing how the LHW scene is kind of bare at the moment and they want to keep Rich active, it's the only fight available. Rog?rio needs a win or else he'll be 0-3 in the UFC and probably on his way out.

[D. S. Veteran]

Lingering Hand Injury Forces Jones Out of UFC 133; Evans Will Now Take on Phil Davis in Philly

CRAP! Evans can't catch a break. And now he will have to steamroll Davis (or be steamrolled) until the next possible date.

[GunzRpeople2]

I hate to say it, but Rich is past his prime...

[Rappy Veteran]

TORONTO ? UFC president Dana White isn't sure why Jose Aldo (19-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) seemingly didn't pull the trigger at Saturday's UFC 129 event.

But the UFC's first-time defending featherweight champion did enough to get the win, and his next opponent may already be lined up.

Following Aldo's win over Mark Hominick (20-9 MMA, 3-1 UFC), White said 145-pound contender Chad Mendes (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) could be next, and it could happen at UFC 133.

White announced the tentative plans in the post-fight press conference for UFC 129, which took Saturday at Toronto's Rogers Centre. Aldo vs. Hominick co-headlined the pay-per-view portion of the event.

While Hominick was the decided underdog, the Canadian lasted five rounds with Aldo (something only one of eight of his previous opponents accomplished) and actually won the final frame in decisive fashion.

"Here's the weird thing about Aldo to me: He came out and looked like this was going to be a quick night (with) nasty leg kicks," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Had he kept throwing those leg kicks, the fight might have been over in the second round.

"Then he just stopped; he slowed down. His pace ? it was very weird. I thought he got hurt. I thought he hurt his leg or something happened or he was tired and gassed. I didn't know. It was very weird."

In fact, White was surprised it went the distance.

"It looked like it was going to be a quick one, and then he shut down," White said of the fight, which the judges ultimately scored 48-45, 48-46 and 49-46.

With 12 straight wins, the WEC's former and final 145-pound champ likely will face Mendes next. The potential host event, UFC 133, takes place Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.

White, though, said it's far from a done deal.

"I still need to talk to (Mendes)," he said. "We haven't even discussed it."

Mendes, a Team Alpha Male fighter and former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, is a perfect 10-0, though five of his past six wins have come via decision. He went 4-0 in the now-defunct WEC before the merger with the UFC, where he defeated Michihiro Omigawa in his February octagon debut.

[D. S. Veteran]

Shall we make this the official thread? UFC 133: Evans vs. Davis

Almost-official card:

UFC Featherweight Championship

Jose Aldo (No. 1 FW, No. 3 PFP) vs. Chad Mendes (No. 3 FW) (rumored)

Phil Davis (No. 8 LHW) vs. Rashad Evans (No. 3 LHW, No. 10 PFP)

Vitor Belfort (No. 8 MW) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce

Mike Thomas Brown vs. Nam Phan

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara

Rafael Natal vs. Riki Fukuda

Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole

Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace

I think it's bull**** that the Jos? Aldo fight would take co-main event credit instead of Main Event. I can understand it from a business perspectiva, Evans sells a ton of PPV, but this fight is a total fix. Jones ducked Evans and now Evans either slays one of the best LHW prospects in the UFC or loses his title shot. From a pure sport perspective, the championship fight should take center stage, even if no one has heard of Chad Mendes outside of the hardcore MMA fan. Doesn't help that his fights generally go to a decision. But to see him get creamed by Aldo, would be a pleasure.

One can dream that Dana White will step in, tell Bones to grow a pair and fight Evans. Move the date of the event or put the fight on UFC 135.

[D. S. Veteran]

And Aldo is out. He just can't catch a break. First he was injured before fighting Josh Grispi now he's injured again after surviving a grueling match with Hominick. Mendes gets the short end of the stick and UFC 133 looks pretty bare. Don't really care for Evans vs Davis because what we want is Evans vs Jones.

[Rappy Veteran]

updated with card!

[D. S. Veteran]

I hope Davis and Rampage get into a car crash and are out for 6 months, leaving Evans free to fight Jones at UFC 135.

[Rappy Veteran]

I hope Davis and Rampage get into a car crash and are out for 6 months, leaving Evans free to fight Jones at UFC 135.

:|

[D. S. Veteran]

Come on, it doesn't need to be a serious accident. Do you really, really want to see Evans crush one of the best LHW prospects in the divion while Rampage (who he beat handsomely) gets a title shot?

[Rappy Veteran]

Come on, it doesn't need to be a serious accident. Do you really, really want to see Evans crush one of the best LHW prospects in the divion while Rampage (who he beat handsomely) gets a title shot?

true but at least get the Rampage stuff over and done with!

[Nerd Rage]

Come on, it doesn't need to be a serious accident. Do you really, really want to see Evans crush one of the best LHW prospects in the divion while Rampage (who he beat handsomely) gets a title shot?

I seriously think Davis can take Evans out. But yeah, Rampage doesn't deserve any big fights, he has put up lackluster showings in his last few fights.

[D. S. Veteran]

I seriously think Davis can take Evans out. But yeah, Rampage doesn't deserve any big fights, he has put up lackluster showings in his last few fights.

How? Davis is 9-0 but couldn't finish Rog?rio Nogueira and showed some pretty big gaps in that fight. Evans, on the other hand, has only been beaten once and is a better wrestler (by miles) and much better game planner than Davis. Has more experience, more skills and has showed consistently why he's a Top 5 LHW. Davis is a growin prospect, a work in progress that is going to get taken down a few pegs. If the fight lasts longer than the first 60 seconds, Evans is going to take the UD. The only way Phil is winning is he pulls out some freak submission with his massive strength.

[Rappy Veteran]

[D. S. Veteran]

The card was finalized today so...

Main Card:

Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis

Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara

Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

Spike TV Prelims:

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson

Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya

Prelims:

Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole

Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace

Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce

Mike Thomas Brown vs. Nam Phan

Rafael Natal vs. Constantinos Philippou

[D. S. Veteran]

Phil Davis had to pull out of the fight due to a knee injury. Tito was asked to take the fight but (wisely) refused. Word is that the fight is being offered to Machida but it's still not official. I hope that the UFC scraps the Evans fight all together and that Rampage somehow gets injured for a Bones vs Evans PPV.

[D. S. Veteran]

UFC 133: Evans vs Ortiz is set to go. Machida took the fight but Dana White took it away after he asked for more money (so says DW himself). Tito stepped up to the plate. How will this play out? Evans by unanimous decision of course, unless Tito pulls something out of his bag of tricks that isn't a terrible injury to justify the loss.

[TheElite]

Not good.

I wanted Machida to beat Evans again and go into title contention. Want to see how Jones v Machida would pan out (providing Jones beats Rampage :shifty:).

[Zoom7000]

Tito had Evans' number last time and would have got the win had it not been for the point deduction. Sure, times have changed, but Tito in my opinion made the correct decision taking the fight and this article sums up pretty well the lines of which I was thinking! :p

Tito Ortiz's UFC 133 Dilemma Spotlights Reward vs. Risk in Late-Notice Fights

By Mike Chiappetta

MMA Writer

Less than two weeks ago' date=' Tito Ortiz arrived in Las Vegas like any other visitor looking to beat the odds. But the game he was playing wasn't poker or baccarat, it was a real-life gamble for his livelihood. He had already been marked for dismissal, a pink slip waiting for him at the completion of a match which odds suggested he had little chance of winning. Though he was a onetime UFC champion standing across the cage from a fighter who had just barely scratched his way into the division's top 10, Ortiz was considered a massive underdog.

He wasn't just competing against an opponent, he was fighting for his job. And with a stunning win, he saved it. But Ortiz didn't have much time to celebrate his Vegas longshot. Within days, he was faced with the difficult proposition of facing Rashad Evans with less than four weeks to prepare.

After initially declining the opportunity, he changed his mind. Win or lose, it is the correct choice.

First off, let's just point out that the decision is no easy one for any number of reasons. While Ortiz faced some immediate backlash for his initial rejection of the fight, we don't yet know his specific reasoning. Fighters put much of their real lives aside during 8-10 week training camps. That means less time with significant others, children, business interests, etc. Ortiz may have made commitments to catch up on some of the things he was missing out on while preparing for Bader. It's easy to suggest that dropping everything for the next four weeks would be a snap when it's not your life, your family and your schedule.

Ortiz was apparently able to put all of it aside. How?

"I didn't ask him. I didn't give a s---," White said on Thursday. "I was just happy he was taking it. I wanted to get off the phone with him as quick as I could before he changed his mind."

When other factors are gone, you're left with debating the risk of facing Evans on short notice vs. losing the momentum of that upset win in record time. While taking a short-notice fight can be a complex decision for a fighter, in the minds of the fans, it is a simple risk-reward analysis.

So let's look at it this way: What would Ortiz gain by winning, and what would he lose out on if he fell to defeat?

When you examine it in these terms, it becomes clear that Ortiz has more to gain than to lose.

The first thing he gains is simple: money. For his UFC 132 fight with Ryan Bader, Ortiz earned a base salary of $450,000, as well as a $75,000 bonus for Submission of the Night. In the leadup to the fight, Ortiz repeatedly mentioned that he took a pay cut to stay in the UFC, so it's likely that he either no longer gets a percentage of pay-per-view revenue, or has a reduced percentage from his previous contract.

Still, we're talking about serious coin. But fighters don't always make decisions based on cash alone, so Ortiz would also consider the benefits of a potential win.

As previously mentioned, two weeks ago, he was on a short leash, with his career nearly over. Defeating Bader was a strong win, but a single victory in his last six outings does little to move him closer to his stated goal of recapturing the light-heavyweight championship that was last around his waist in 2003.

Should he upset Evans -- and Ortiz is again a massive underdog -- it would be a giant step in that direction. Suddenly, after failing to win in five fights over four-and-a-half years, he would boast two wins over two top 10 light-heavyweights in little over one month.

Remember, Evans was considered the No. 1 contender to face champ Jon Jones before a Jones' injury reshuffled the deck. While revisionist historians may suggest that Bader was not quite as good as once believed, an Ortiz win over Evans can not be discounted in that way or otherwise ignored. Evans has faced and beaten big names, he's a former champion and he's well respected. A win over him would mean something.

If Ortiz wins, everything changes. He's back in the mix. He's on a streak. It's crazy to write this, but one of the loudest, brashest fighters in MMA history will become the sport's most unlikely feel-good underdog story. And maybe he gets those pay-per-view points back.

"I'll tell you what," White said on Thursday afternoon. "If Tito beats Rashad, we'll talk."

What does he risk? How does he suffer by losing? Not much. Since he is doing the UFC a huge favor by stepping on short notice, it is assured he will not be cut if he loses. So he's guaranteed two paydays by taking this fight. If he loses in a close fight -- and historically, Ortiz isn't easily blown out -- that might actually serve to show people that the Bader win was no fluke. Even if he gets controlled for three rounds, well, it came against the No. 1 contender on less than four weeks' notice. There's no huge shame in that.

One crazy note from all this mess is that people often criticize Ortiz for how inactive he's been over the last few years, but since the start of 2009, Evans has fought three times, with eight rounds of cage time. Ortiz has fought three times, with seven rounds of cage time. Evans is 2-1 with two decisions and was knocked out once. Ortiz is 1-2 with one stoppage victory, and one of his losses by split-decision. Perhaps most importantly, Ortiz is coming off a full camp, a win, and should be relatively close to peak shape. Meanwhile, Evans hasn't fought in over 14 months, his longest layoff since joining the UFC in 2005. It's certainly possible that he struggles with timing after so much time away. Given all those factors, it may not be so crazy to suggest that maybe these guys aren't as far apart as the odds suggest.

Ortiz has little to lose in this late-notice scenario. He will wake up on the morning of August 6 far from a title shot. When he walks out of the cage later that night, he'll either still be far from it -- meaning no difference -- or he'll have leapfrogged over a slew of mid-tier fighters after beating the rightful No. 1 contender. Either way, he'll still have at least one more payday coming.

"If Tito beats Rashad on August 6, how could anybody deny ... he beats a top 10 contender in Ryan Bader and then comes in and knocks off the guy many people believe is the No. 1 contender for the title," White said. "It would definitely put him in the mix. I wouldn't say he's necessarily the No. 1 contender after this fight, but he's top three."

When the potential rewards of winning far outweigh the risks of losing, the decision really makes itself. Ortiz accepted a fight that will be difficult and grinding, but with it comes the chance to move farther and faster up the rankings than any other opportunity would provide. Some people would view a short-notice offer to fight Evans as an unnecessary risk. But when you peel back the layers in this case, it's clear it's more like a gift.

[/quote']

Source - MMA Fighting

[D. S. Veteran]

Not good.

I wanted Machida to beat Evans again and go into title contention. Want to see how Jones v Machida would pan out (providing Jones beats Rampage :shifty:).

It would take another nuclear level slam for Rampage to beat Jones in 5 rounds. Rampage lost to Rua in devastating fashion and he's now older, fatter and probably less motivated to train. Couldn't even finish Hamill. Jones on the other hand. stepped in on short notice and raped Shogun with some ease. Oddmakers should put it on the level of "betting against GSP". Evans can be a threat to Jones. Machida... maybe. Rampage? Not really.

[TheElite]

Tito had Evans' number last time and would have got the win had it not been for the point deduction. Sure, times have changed, but Tito in my opinion made the correct decision taking the fight and this article sums up pretty well the lines of which I was thinking! :p

Source - MMA Fighting

Good article. Didn't really think that it's been 14 months since Evans last fight.

[Yorak]

I cannot wait to see TIto get his ass kicked by Evans. Oh, this is going to be so good.

[D. S. Veteran]

Everyone made weight except Ivan Menjivar. He really needs to move up to 145 or lose some of that muscle mass. He is ripped beyond belief at 135.