In the UFC Primetime show leading up to the fight last night, we saw Rashad Evans send Quinton Jackson a "Snuggie" brand blanket for when he was put to sleep via KO. Unfortunately it was those in attendance and watching on PPV that could have used a lil cat-nap during the main event of the evening.
Rashad used Couture-esque clinching against the cage to lean and takedown his way to a decision victory. Aside from a solid punch from Rashad in the opening stanza, there was not much action coming from his direction. He dictated the pace and location of the fight and definitely won on points, but lost in the eyes of a lot of fans.
Rampage was clearly affected by the long layoff and cutting the weight he did to get back into fighting shape for his return to the Octagon. There was a glimmer of hope for a KO in the final round as Quinton rocked Evans with a solid punch, but was unable to finish Rashad. Evans was able to keep his cool and land a takedown to save himself from a more serious concussive power.
A serious KO loss can change a fighter after such an experience by making them tentative and afraid to engage. In the case of Rashad Evans it is not so much that he is afraid to engage, but more so that the Machida KO knocked his mindset back to his Michigan State wrestling roots. Evans had gotten to be a decent striker as his progression from wrestler to MMA fighter blossomed, its just too bad that these two couldn't have met up pre-Lyoto beatdown so that this would have been an entertaining scuffle.
The full results from UFC 114 are below:
MAIN CARD
Rashad Evans def. Quinton Jackson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Michael Bisping def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Mike Russow def. Todd Duffee via knockout (punch) - Round 3, 2:35
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Jason Brilz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
John Hathaway def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Dong Hyun Kim def. Amir Sadollah via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Efrain Escudero def. Dan Lauzon via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Melvin Guillard def. Waylon Lowe via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:28
Cyrille Diabate def. Luiz Cane via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:13
Aaron Riley def. Joe Brammer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan Jensen def. Jesse Forbes via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:06
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