Which Rampage Will Show Up Versus Evans?

An 18 month layoff is a long one no matter how you slice it and Quinton Jackson has to come back from that to face the former Light-Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. As I see it Rampage takes this fight more than he doesn't. Having said that I have to question a couple of things after watching the "Primetime" series leading up to the meeting of the former Champions. First, who is Page sparring with at Wolfslair that can be anything like the physical athlete that Rashad is? Secondly, how much of an effect will the long layoff and scuffles with the UFC brass have on Page and his mindset?

In the UFC primetime show we saw Quinton's frustration with his sparring partners and how they could do nothing to push the fighter in training. Absolutely no disrespect to Wolfslair as they do have a great cast of up and comers as well as a few established stars like Bisping to their credit, but what heavyweights or light heavyweights do they have to prepare Jackson? I would be surprised if anyone but maybe Bisping has given him a run for his money in sparring, and that may be a stretch. Juanito Ibarra for all his flaws at least had Page's boxing game in tip top form and had him surrounded by name fighters in Big Bear, CA. Furthermore going up against Rashad Evans, Rampage finds himself up against one of the best wrestlers in the game right now and Page is training in the UK where they are notoriously behind the times in terms of their wrestling.

Page has recently re-expressed his dissatisfaction with the UFC and even said that he is no longer "proud" to be called a UFC fighter. He also voiced the fact that yes he did re-sign with them, bit they have already come back and disrespected him (see video above via fighters only mag). That kind of turbulence with his employer may have had some effect on his mentality coming into the fight especially coming in off of a long layoff from the fight game while he parlayed his acting skills in the new A-Team movie.

All in all this article will probably be for naught as Page has come out on top in the game more often than not, and I see the Rashad fight no differently. As you can probably tell I am a big Rampage fan and have been for a long time, so my impartiality is skewed when discussing any fight that Quinton is in. Aside from the fan-boy in me that owns a round 5 figurine of Page and still reminisces about the monster slams in his Pride days, looking on the fight from the outside I see Quinton's skill set and heart to be too much for Evans. For someone who was rocked by Thiago Silva and rode out a boring decision win, Quinton would have knocked Shad "clean-out" as Jackson would say.