Hits and Misses – UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis

The UFC is back on FOX this Saturday and while no titles will be on the line this time, opportunities and clarifications will be presented.  Light Heavyweight and Middleweight, two of the UFC’s most stacked and explosive divisions will be on display on Saturday with a couple of fights that both have title shot implications as Rasahad Evans returns after a long hiatus to defend his number one contenders spot against up and comer Phil Davis. 

 

The co-main event features the self proclaimed “undisputed middleweight champion” Chael Sonnen in his quest to secure a long awaited rematch against Anderson Silva, he squares off against England’s favorite child in Michael Bisping.

 

Rashad Evans

 

Hits – Seems like every time Rashad is close at securing a title shot, something happens.  Last year he was scheduled to face Shogun Rua, first fight was called off because of Rua getting injure then the second fight wouldn’t happen because of Evans getting injured.  Subsequently Rashads replacement in Jon Jones would go on and defeat Shogun.

 

This fight was originally scheduled for August, now five months later we finally are going to see it.  Last time we saw Evans he was dominating Tito Ortiz in his only fight in 2011.  While a combination of injuries and bad decisions have kept him in a very limited role in the UFC, since January 2010 he’s only had 3 fights, Rashad seems to be back to 100% and ready to finally solidify a fight with the Champion, if he gets past Davis of course.  A win over Davis and more importantly a win without re-aggravating an injury will automatically make him the next opponent for current champion Jon Jones, probably setting them up for a May or June confrontation.

 

Misses – Evans has barely been in the octagon in the past 2 years.  He spent 2 rounds against overmatched Tito Ortiz in his only fight in 2011 and fought Rampage and Thiago Silva in 2010, rust is definitely a concern for Evans.  In Davis, Rashad is facing a very powerful wrestler where if Evans isn’t on his toes can do some serious ground and pound damage.  A loss for Rashad would mean another year without a title shot.

 

Phil Davis

 

Hits – Davis has everything to gain and very little to lose heading into Saturday night.  A win will propel Davis into automatic title contention by having defeated the number one contender.  Given that Davis is still relatively new to the fight game, the most important aspect of this fight against Evans is the experience he’s going to get.  Much like the UFC did with Jon Jones, they are getting behind Phil by putting him in the big stage against a big name very early in his career.  As long as it’s a good competitive fight, any outcome will be a good one for Davis.

 

Misses – The only real worry when talking about Phil Davis is his mental stability.  He has given the implication in the past that he only fights because of the money.  When a fighter thinks that way it doesn’t take a lot to discourage him, a dominating victory by Rashad in a main event on free TV could be enough to make someone with that mentality quit.  Hopefully that’s not the case with Davis, even with a loss he would have a very long and possibly successful career ahead of him.

 

Chael Sonnen

 

Hits – Chael Sonnen’s situation is pretty black and white, win and he goes to a mega fight with Anderson Silva in Brazil, lose and chances are he’ll never get the rematch he’s wanted for 3 years now.  The way Sonnen talks in the press conferences makes it seem like he really is more worried about stirring then pot than his actual opponent.  Never the less, aside from Silva, Chael’s the man at middleweight and a win will put him exactly where he’s been wanting for years, across the octagon from Anderson Silva.

 

Misses – If by any chance Sonnen is correct in all of his assumptions that Silva is afraid of him and that he doesn’t want to fight him then all it takes is a slip from Chael to lose the chance at a highly coveted rematch.  Basically for “The Man of Steel” it’s win or go home, because a loss will guarantee him never seeing Silva across from him in an octagon. 

 

Michael Bisping

 

Hits – Bisping has been chasing a title shot since he won the ultimate fighter years ago.  Last time he was close to getting a title shot he was knocked out by Dan Henderson and sent back down the latter.  Bisping is coming off his two best years in the UFC, gaining a 4 fight win streak over top contenders Mayhem Miller, Akiyama, Jorge Rivera and Dan Miller.  A win of Sonnen will definitely prove he is a top contender for the title and will get him that elusive title shot he’s been chasing.

 

Misses – Its been very busy couple of months for Bisping, first he shot The Ultimate Fighter, then he fought Mayhem Miller in December and now a month later he was scheduled to face Demian Maia and at the last second switched to Chael Sonnen.  That kind of schedule is both physically and mentally exhausting and makes me wonder in what kind of state Michael Bisping is.  To top it off, making the training camp change from fighting Maia, who is a submission and jiu jitsu specialist to fighting Sonnen who’s an experienced wrestler, is a very difficult task.