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    Cagewriter

    Rashad Evans earns title shot with UFC on Fox 2 decision

    By Maggie Hendricks | Cagewriter – Sat, Jan 28, 2012 10:16 PM EST

    Rashad Evans won over Phil Davis (Tracy Lee)CHICAGO -- In a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender, Rashad Evans controlled Phil Davis on his way to a unanimous decision at the United Center on Saturday night. The judges saw it 50-45 on all three cards for Evans.

    Davis landed a spinning leg kick, then ducked low into a takedown. Evans pushed him into the fence and fended off the takedown attempt. Every time Davis came in to try to get the takedown, Evans made him pay with a punch or two. Evans got a takedown at the 1:30 point of the first round, then moved to side control. From there, he put Davis into a crucifix hold and landed a bevy of short punches.

    In the second round, Evans was aggressive, landing several punches early in the round. They clinched, but things slowed down considerably. They had a few striking exchanges, with Evans coming out on top. In the last 30 seconds, Evans took Davis down and again landed punches from side control.

    [ Related: Evans earns his UFC title shot vs. Jones ]

    Davis shot in for a takedown to start the third round. Davis drove him against the fence until he finally got the takedown. Evans reversed position and landed several lefts to Davis' face. They returned to their feet, and Davis got another takedown, and Evans returned to his feet while Davis held on for dear life.

    Early in the fourth round, Davis landed a punishing rib kick, but Evans did not slow down. He continued to move forward, stalking Davis around the cage. When Davis shot in for a takedown, Evans fended him off before getting a takedown of his own.

    Evans started the fifth round with a huge strike, and then held off Davis' attack. Evans caught a kick, then as he held the single leg, punched Davis until he went down. He stretched Davis into side control, and continued to land punches even as Davis worked to his feet. Evans controlled the rest of the round the way he controlled the whole fight.

    With this win, Evans should punch his ticket for a fight with Jon Jones. The UFC announced Saturday that Jones' next bout will be in April in Atlanta. As long as Evans is healthy, the bout should be his.

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    40 comments

    • Psyko
      Psyko  •  3 months ago
      Dana already said it.... its Rashad vs Jones IF hes injured its Hendo vs Jones
    • john
      john  •  New York, New York  •  3 months ago
      So why was this a five round fight? Did I miss something?
    • johnny
      johnny  •  College Station, Texas  •  3 months ago
      The only thing more boring than this was the co-main event.
    • Vincent Hanna
      Vincent Hanna  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 months ago
      So much for Davis saying he was a National Champion and Evans "just competed".

      Sucka!
    • vorn
      vorn  •  3 months ago
      I decided to go to the store to buy some cat treats. moisturizer, ginger ale and shampoo. Did I miss another boring UFC event by doing something productive? These events are getting worse and worse each time. So let me guess, Sonnen is going to have his chance to get beat up by Silva again?
    • Pat K
      Pat K  •  3 months ago
      So where are all the people who believed Phil Davis was the only guy with a chance to beat Bones? Sure, Phil Davis has a great wrestling pedigree, but clearly it doesn't translate to MMA all that well. Until Davis develops his laughable standup, he's going to be a one trick pony.
    • Steve L
      Steve L  •  London, Canada  •  3 months ago
      another weak main event....that was 4 rounds too long for me
    • Gene
      Gene  •  Wichita, Kansas  •  3 months ago
      it looked like Davis was walking on ice
    • First L
      First L  •  Fort Wayne, Indiana  •  3 months ago
      What a boring fight. Davis was a scared kitten and Evans fought very passive. Glad it was free on tv, otherwise would have been a rip off. Supposed to be a fight, not a dance!
    • Brad L
      Brad L  •  3 months ago
      Yummy choclate flavored sausages rubbing agains each other I dream of Jones thrusting his gorilla pole into my dark tunnel of love. But in a fight I think Rashad has the cuter booty and may win with his sexy side controlling
      • Zach
        Zach 3 months ago
        Sing it Brad.
    • Bodhi Zuffa
      Bodhi Zuffa  •  San Diego, California  •  3 months ago
      Dana White could hardly hold back his disdain for the overall fight performances on this card when he was being interviewed by Ariel on Fuel Tv. He might have to sell one of his private jets to compensate for these weak fight cards lately.
      • Doghouse Riley
        Doghouse Riley 3 months ago
        Seriously, use your old pic, this one is just to lame...What possessed you?
    • OGNutcracker
      OGNutcracker  •  3 months ago
      What a horrible card. Sonnen all talk and fights like a coward. Evans and Davis could of cured insomnia. Fox is sh$tting their pants. They got hoodwinked by the UFC. Bob Arum, Spike, and ESPN are laughing their #$%$ off. Why should ESPN cover this garbage?? No Lesnar, no Kimbo, UFC falls off like Cofield in a 3rd grade spelling bee.
      • Make
        Make 3 months ago
        You were onto something until you said "Kimbo", then I realized you're just a jacka$$.
      • Bodhi Zuffa
        Bodhi Zuffa 3 months ago
        Both times that "Kimbo" fought in an MMA match for UFC or Elite XC he pulled in over 5 million viewers! 5x more viewers than the average UFX fight card on TV!
      • Tonz
        Tonz 3 months ago
        No Lesner? No Kimbo? When is the last time either of those two had a good fight. Lesner is a hasbeen and Kimbo is a never was. Kimbo is the product of internet sensation. It is like "The Blair Witch Project", it created such a buzz people went to see it and when they finally saw it, They said #$%$
    • CraigC
      CraigC  •  Troutdale, Oregon  •  3 months ago
      Jones will destroy Rashad. He is a greater striker and has proven that he can avoid takedowns, which would be Rashads best shot. Jones even said he will train harder for this fight than any other because he's more motivated, saying this after destroying his recent top notch opponents. I'd probably even give the wrestling edge to Bones too because he's got the Greco-Roman experience while Rashads just got the regular wrestling. Right now Jones can only beat himself, because no one else will.
      • ceg
        ceg 3 months ago
        No one, No one jones has faced, even comes close to the wrestling abilities of Evans. People called that davis fight boring no nothing about fighting. He handled a champion wrestler. Other than sonnen, and maybe maynard no one is close to evens level.
      • SamuelM
        SamuelM 3 months ago
        Craig I'll agree with you. If Evans fights like he did last night against Jones, Jones will pick him apart. That was not an impressive win. The crowd knew it, and by his body language in the post fight interview, he knew it. Davis is not someone you should "go the distance" with.
      • Zach
        Zach 3 months ago
        The Jones hype train is a rolling. Just kidding. The guy is good for sure. He may be a prick, but he's good. No one is unbeatable, and Rashad has trained with him. Jones will act like he's not affected by Rashad's talk, but he will be very emotional during the fight. I hope he looses. It's nice seeing guys like that lose to people they hate.
    • jaywolf1
      jaywolf1  •  3 months ago
      LMAO!!! The UFC is a JOKE!!! They are gonna give Rashad the title shot after that SNOOZEFEST performance??? All the while Hendo sits on the shelf AND p4p list and will be WAY out of fighting shape by the time he finally gets his deserved chance. Terrible decision by zuffa on that one.
    • Display Name
      Display Name  •  3 months ago
      evans' game is boring ... circling ^2
    • Doghouse Riley
      Doghouse Riley  •  3 months ago
      Yep, I called this one too.

      And to think that most Yahoo clowns were saying Davis was going to murder Evans. Jokers. Who is the clown now? Not me, I said Evans all along.
    • StarzChild
      StarzChild  •  3 months ago
      Davis is not a "fighter" yet, just a great athlete. Evans, too experienced at top level.
      Davis s/b the aggressor but fought scared. Evans was cautious but did enough.
      Made for a boring fight, but this will get sorted out at UFC 145.
    • Controlled Det
      Controlled Det  •  Fayetteville, North Carolina  •  3 months ago
      Hey Nut, did you manage to find "FX2"?
    • Craig
      Craig  •  3 months ago
      It is very boring fighting!
    • Slim
      Slim  •  3 months ago
      Embarrassing! Spent the entire time trying to explain that the fights are actually better than this. The promos were a bit WWF'ish. I love bones & Cotoure but both lacked polish. To sum up the FOX segment it's as if you bring homeless person to your house for dinner. You wash them up and sit them at your table but they just don't fit.
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