"If you're undefeated, you're fighting the wrong people", says Matt Hughes while he comforted Sam Morgan after Sam's devastating knockout by Luke Cummo. The knockout left Sam dazed for a couple of minutes. You could tell that Sam really wanted to win. I respect fighters who cry over their defeats, not because of their whining, but because they've sacrificed so much to pursue their dreams and come up short. There's no shame in Sam's tears.
Two other mixed martial artists knocked heads to determine which heavyweight moved into the final round. Rashad sucked it up and worked with Matt Hughes as his corner man. Matt has a wealth of knowledge in terms fighting in the octagon, and it was a wise choice for Rashad to act professional; to trust Matt to coach him. Facing Keith Jardine was no easy task. It was Rashad's third fight of the series, and Keith is a mean-looking fighter. Rashad's advantage has always been his quickness, but Keith looked to be an all-around package with knockout power.
Starting the first round, a straight left jab from Rashad stunned Keith to the ground, but Keith recovered quickly. Keith did a nice headlock takedown but couldn't maintain his full-mount position. Rashad turned the tables to operate within Keith's full guard. Rashad worked hard to pass Keith's legs as Keith countered with an arm bar attempt. The arm bar was weak and Keith could not get further leverage. Time ran out with Rashad dealing little elbow shots to Keith's forehead. The first round went to Rashad in my opinion, as he was the aggressor for much of the five minutes.
Both fighters walked slowly out of their corners after the second round bell. In a reversal deja vu of the first round, a short right hit Rashad square in the face and dropped him. Rashad was able to recover as Keith did previously. Keith stuck to the bread and butter of boxing - the one-two combination. Those combos took their toll on Rashad. His left eye and face were visibly swollen from Keith's powerful barrage. As the round progressed, Keith got more confident and kept landing vicious rights to the left side of Rashad's face. Round two went, decisively, to Keith.
Article comments
1 - Rod1
I hope Rashad Evans win the contract then walk away from it....Dana white has done nothing but hate on him from the very beginning...It's hard for a person to work for a company when they get no respect. Still to the very end...Dana's picking the other fighter instead of Rashad....Rashad has beaten every tough fighter on there...not to mention he's fought more fights than any fighter on there.....He should have been automatically selected to be in the finals, but he once again had to fight the favorite to get there. Rashad i say screw the UFC and Dana White.