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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist This bout is the main event of the evening, and one that fight fans have been looking forward to for quite a while, although it was intended to have featured a different challenger. It is no secret that this was to be Chuck Liddell's night to try to regain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, but one perfect shot from Rashad Evans in September changed everything immediately. At first glance it seemed to be a letdown, but this is only in terms of star power or name recognition in the case of Liddell as Evans is simply not a crowd favorite; but he is an amazing athlete and an undefeated fighter in the UFC. Most people love Forrest Griffin and loathe Rashad Evans but everyone should be able to find something to love about what should be a great light heavyweight battle.
Forrest Griffin is the megawatt star who found his fame by winning the first edition of 'The Ultimate Fighter,' coming out on top of a bloody battle with Stephan Bonnar in the finals. Griffin is the jug eared former police officer who is sort of like what you would have imagined Opie Taylor to have grown up to be.
Griffin won 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and our hearts in the process, but he has truly become an amazing fighter along the way. He still loves a good slugfest, and seems to enjoy a fight more than a bout, but he isn't all brawn and haymakers. Forrest has evolved into a better fighter than he probably ever should have been, and I think what has made him such a fan favorite is the fact that we have been along for the ride and witnessed his maturation process and the addition of several new wrinkles to his game.
Forrest's fight with Bonnar is the one that put him on the map, but it was his submission victory over Mauricio Rua that served notice that he was more than just the good natured banger from the reality show. At the time of their bout it was widely believed that Mauricio Rua was the number one light heavyweight in the world and Griffin was a supreme underdog. After almost three rounds of dominance, the underdog won over everyone and proved the skeptics wrong by choking out Rua and forcing him to submit. This win was important in that he defeated a man who was considered to be much better than he was, but in actually submitting his foe it showed that there was more to Griffin than just standing on a dime and slugging it out.
Griffin would go on to challenge Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 86 and would come out on top by unanimous decision after an amazing five round battle. Many disputed the decision, but Griffin hung in there with Jackson and gave him probably one of the toughest bouts of his career; and even if you don't believe he won the title, you have to agree that Griffin belongs on the same level of Jackson's after such a performance. Griffin cracked Jackson's shell inside of the Octagon on this night, and this loss may have very well been what led Jackson to go off of the deep end and embark on his series of curious incidents on the highways of California. A star was born against Bonnar but a superstar was made after Griffin's hand was raised following his bout with Jackson.
Rashad Evans, on the other hand, is hated and has been hated since the first time he showed up on many a fight fan's television set as a member of 'The Ultimate Fighter 2.' His showboating ways and the tongue lashing he took from Matt Hughes caused many to immediately decide to loathe Evans in much the same way that Josh Koscheck became a villain after his time on the first season. Much like Koscheck it was Evans' inactivity that only fueled the fires of hatred, as he fought in the most boring way possible and seemed content to simply go the distance and do just a little more than his opponent rather than actually take the victory.
Evans got the nod over Brad Imes to become the winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter 2,' but this wasn't exactly Bonnar-Griffin and no one was looking forward to seeing either man in the UFC. Evans went on to take care of two former 'TUF' fighters in defeating both Sam Hoger and Stephan Bonnar. He still had not shown us that he was a fighter, and had done nothing to make anyone want to see him again.
Until the switch was flipped and he delivered one of the most brutal knockouts you will ever see in victory over Sean Salmon at UFC Fight Night 8. This head kick was such that one could not believe it was delivered by Evans, and so brutal that Salmon was out ice cold before ever hitting the canvas. This wasn't the Rashad Evans we had come to know and despise, this guy looked like he could actually fight a little and not just wrestle.
Evans would prove to be lucky in escaping with a draw after facing Tito Ortiz at UFC 73. Had Ortiz not been deducted a point for grabbing the fence it would have been different, and this only led to more boos for Evans. Evans would go on to face Michael Bisping and walk away with yet another decision that many felt he did not deserve, and he looked to be the same old Rashad in what was a boring bout between two winners of 'The Ultimate Fighter.' Suddenly it seemed that many wanted to actually see Rashad fight once more, but all of those folks were just hoping to see him get knocked out. A bout with Chuck Liddell seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered for all of those who loathed Evans.
Of course, some things have a tendency to not go as planned. Kind of like how you wanted to become a lawyer or had hoped to go pro if it weren't for your bum knee and the fact that your girlfriend became pregnant. The UFC, Chuck Liddell and damn near everyone around wanted to see Evans get iced by the "Iceman," but what happened was something no one had imagined or could have even predicted.
Rashad Evans landed a punch that knocked Chuck Liddell out cold, and this is something that no man had ever done in MMA. This was the perfect punch landed to the perfect spot of the fighter who was the perfect pay-per-view star for so long. To many fans this was as if Ivan Drago had defeated Rocky Balboa in 'Rocky IV' and it was all about excuses for Liddell and zero praise for Evans.
Rashad received hate mail by the pound after knocking out Liddell, and this seemed to make everyone wonder if perhaps the hatred so many had for Rashad was due to race and nothing more. Which makes this fight so compelling on so many levels. On one hand you have Forrest Griffin the champion, who is so white that he would make Casper the Ghost look like Count Chocula, and on the other you have Rashad Evans the man who mimicked Fred Sanford after dusting off Liddell. Is this a black and white issue to some? Does race help to determine whether you want to see Evans succeed or fail? I do not believe it does at all, but for a small part of our audience it most certainly does and it is a shame.
For Rashad Evans to win this fight he is going to have to zone all of this out and just be a fighter inside of the Octagon. Evans is the superior wrestler, striker and athlete, but he just doesn't have the heart or the motor of Griffin. He will have to be deadly accurate with each shot thrown and he is going to have to do something that most find him incapable of doing; outwork Griffin. I see no way that Evans can even think about looking to finish Griffin, but rather look to win this one on the scorecards and just try to simply do a little bit more and be just a touch more effective than the tireless Griffin. Evans is capable of doing so, but is going to have to show us more than we have ever seen if it is to happen.
For Forrest Griffin to win this fight he is going to have to forget everything he learned in training and go back to what has carried him so far. It will be about will and determination, and not necessarily skill and technique that wins this one. Griffin has already proven to be capable of doing more inside the Octagon than many men would have ever imagined he could do. He is the perennial underdog and to a point he is the underdog in this bout. Which is great for Griffin as he thrives on proving others wrong and just getting into a fight. Forrest is not on the level of Evans in terms of wrestling skill or punching power, but he has the ability to throw shot after shot without becoming exhausted. This one will be about instinct for Griffin, and probably shouldn't be the prettiest fight but just the most effective one; and for him to win he is going to have to push Evans to the point that Rashad wants to quit on his stool.
Bent's Prediction: Forrest Griffin by Split Decision
I really, really believe Rashad Evans is capable of winning a unanimous decision but I just cannot go against my gut, and my gut says that Forrest Griffin will gut this out. Rashad Evans is a supremely talented fighter, but it isn't always about who is the most talented; and sometimes that jug eared goofy looking underdog can make you wonder why you ever imagined him an underdog to begin with. Maybe its his smile because it is so disarming, and once this one is over with it will be that smile we shall see as Griffin pulls off another victory in a fight he had no right to win.
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