Perez's Take
PEREZ: Rashad Evans' Long and Winding Road to UFC Title Shot
Feb 1, 2012 - 7:30:29 AM PEREZ: Rashad Evans' Long and Winding Road to UFC Title Shot

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By: Anwar Perez, MMATorch Columnist

I have been writing for MMATorch for two years now, and have enjoyed every single bit of it. My very first article was about Rashad Evans and how I felt that taking the Rampage Jackson fight after it initially wasn't going to happen - because of Jackson's role in "The A-Team" movie - would be a mistake and push him further away from getting his opportunity to fight for a championship again. I wasn't exactly wrong, nor was I entirely right; there were definitely other factors that contributed to his lack of opportunity for the Light Heavyweight Championship belt.

After losing his championship, Evans came back and faced Thiago Silva in early 2010. He won that fight via unanimous decision, then decided to take the Rampage fight that was supposed to happen after both of their stints as coaches on the Ultimate Fighter the previous Fall. Evans would go onto win that fight against Rampage via another unanimous decision. Due to an injury to then newly-crowned Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Evans - who was the number 1 contender for the championship - decided to wait until the champ was healed before taking the fight.

While waiting for the opportunity to get a fight against the Champ, his teammate Jon Jones was working his way up the ladder, taking out Vladimir Matyushenko and Ryan Bader before another setback plagued Evans. During training, Evans got injured in preparation for his bout with Shogun. Because of this, Dana White and the UFC had to find a replacement. They decided on Jon Jones, provided he defeat his opponent Ryan Bader first (which he did). So not only did Rashad Evans get injured and lose his chance to a title fight, he lost it to a teammate who many thought was THE premier fighter to beat in the division, looking the other way entirely on the merits of Rashad Evans.

When Jones won the belt from Shogun, many assumed that it would be Evans vs. Jones next, especially from the built in storyline of former teammates fighting each other for the championship belt. That was the plan, but due to a hand injury to Jones, the fight was delayed, and Evans then fought in a rematch against Tito Ortiz (the two had fought to a draw in their first bout), which Evans won via TKO. Jones took a fight with Rampage Jackson once he was healed and was able to put him away via submission.Then again it was to be Jones vs. Evans in December of last year. Once again, Evans was injured, and a replacement was sought, this time with Lyoto Machida in tow to face Jones (Machida lost). Evans then went ahead and accepted a fight with up-and-comer Phil Davis for late January, effectively putting his championship opportunity on the line.

Well, this past Saturday, Evans was able to outclass Davis, and finally (at least, barring injury from either fighter) get his opportunity at trying to regain the championship. Jones is on a completely different level as far as competition goes, and Evans will have a hard time ahead of him getting the championship back. When Shogun or Lyoto Machida held the belt - at a time when Evans took other fights or got injured - he had either a slight advantage to defeat (or avenge in Machida's case) either of those fighters. With Jones easily dismantling both Shogun and Machida, not to mention Rampage Jackson, all within the last year, Evans will have to have the fight of his life if he wants to regain the title. It has been a long and winding road for Evans, but now he has finally come to the end of it, and it's up to him to take hold of the opportunity that is in front of him.