Does Rashad Evans Have a Prayer at UFC 88 Against Chuck Liddell?
by Luke Thomas on Sep 4, 2008 4:03 PM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintDuring Liddell’s big run, many experts felt the way to beat him was to get him off his feet and to put him on his back; that the way to end his reign of dominance was to expose his jiu-jitsu. Many fighters tried to take him down and many failed. Even if you look beyond Liddell’s two-year win streak and look at his entire career, he has only been submitted just once and that was way back at UFC 19 in 1999 vs. Horn.
Couture, Quinton Jackson, and Keith Jardine have shown us that the way to beat Liddell isn’t by trying to take him off his feet, it’s by pressuring him in the pocket and literally beating him to the punch. Personally, I am not sold on Evans’ striking. One well-timed, well-placed highlight reel high kick against Sean Salmon does not make you a lethal striker. Evans’ standup has improved, but not to the extent that he’s ready to trade shot-for-shot with Liddell.
And I’ve heard all the stories: Evans has worked harder than ever for this fight and is going to look leaner than we’ve ever seen him. Having a more impressive physique isn’t going to compensate for the reach disadvantage he’ll have when it comes to the standup. And Liddell showed us vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 last December what happens when you have shorter arms than him and try to slug it out.
What’s going to happen is that if Evans attempts to take Liddell down, he will find that his wrestling is not high-caliber enough to solve “The Iceman’s” sprawl. Liddell will keep it standing and at some point Evans will have no choice but to engage in the striking aspect of the fight. At that point, he will come up on the short end of the stick and find himself helplessly staring up at the lights towards the end of the first round courtesy of a Liddell overhand right.
I tend to think Evans will last a little longer than Caplan does, but the style problem remains the same: Evans needs the takedown, so what's he going to do when Liddell doesn't give it to him?
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“And Liddell showed us vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 last December what happens when you have shorter arms than him and try to slug it out.”
Hmm, I could have sworn Silva rocked Lidell and sat him right on his arse but didn’t go in for the finish, which to this day bugs the crap outta me. >:(
I think Rashad has a great chance to take Chucky out. I’m actually pulling for him. :)
The conventional wisdom was that Jardine would get crushed if he tried to exchange with Liddell, and we all saw how that turned out. I think stylistically this fight obviously is meant to favor Chuck, but I could see Evans confounding him with his superior quickness
Oh yeah, and keep in mind, this is the same Sam Caplan who told everyone Koscheck was going to whup GSP.
The conventional wisdom was that Jardine would get crushed if he tried to exchange with Liddell, and we all saw how that turned out.
Well, to be fair, Jardine didn’t really try to exchange with Liddell. He used his length and leg kicks to keep Liddell at a distance and out-pointed him to a decision win. If I remember right, the one or two times he actually strayed away from kicking and defensive movement and got close enough for a real exchange he got rocked by Liddell. I could be wrong on that, but he definitely did not win the fight by trying to exchange with Liddell in a traditional sense. And there’s really no indication that Evans has the same ability to use leg kicks to outpoint Liddell.
I remember the leg kicks play a part in the Jardine/Chuck fight,
but more than that I remember the wild, looping over-hand right that he’d set up with a short left being the determining factor. From where Chuck traditionally holds his hands, there’s quite literally no angle for him to attack Jardine’s head during Keith’s follow-through on that big looping over-hand right.
That’s what stuck out to me in that fight, more than the leg-kicks. Range was a big factor, though. He kept Chuck on the outside.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
Why is it that I keep hearing that Rashad is like greased lightning? His hands looked alright in his last two fights, but he would have lost to Tito sans point deduction and won a close split against Bisping. There’s nothing in those last two fights that convinces me he’s going to “counfound” anyone with his boxing, let alone Chuck. Jardine’s and Rashad’s striking are so different, I find it hard to believe that Rashad is going to be able to emulate what he did.
That being said, it’s Rashad’s chance to prove he belongs with the elites and prove what he’s been saying. We’ll find out soon enough!
I dont think he stands much of a chance, though in a few interviews he thinks he can because he trains with Jardine.
Unfortuantely “Suger” doesnt have the needed striking skills to be Chuck.
Jardine is a far more diverse striker than Evans. jardine actually won the fight with leg kicks, since when does Rashad have good leg kicks?
Rashad has some power in his legs just ask Salmon. Instead of aiming high just aim low. Then you’ll see some leg kicks.
There's a difference between throwing leg kicks intended to damage
and leg kicks intended to keep your opponent off-balance and at range. You don’t want to throw Cro Cop kicks at the legs of an established wrestler, unless you want to end up on the ground. There’s too much time in the ‘follow-through’ portion of the kick. The way Jardine and Forrest throw leg kicks is a much quicker, more efficient technique, and has a shorter, more compact follow-through, leaving them less vulnerable to counter-attack.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
I think after his decision loss to Jardine that there is no way in hell Chuck takes “Sugar” lightly. After looking at Wandy’s face after that fight and watching him fight off being knocked out for three rounds (pure badass) I think there is little doubt about Chuck’s quickness or his power. Unless Evans converts to that funkyass striking style Jardine employed there is no way he takes Chuck out. I do not see him being able to hold him down for three rounds
Lidell eats grappler’s who can’t strike for lunch…
Having said that Rashad’s chin has never been really tested… for all we know he could have a dan henderson beard in which case he has a chance.
Rashad’s hope is that Chuck’s age has caught up to him.
Is there a reason you are putting all of your posts in bold print? I mean, I’m getting older and sometimes it’s hard to see the text on the screen, but your bold seems almost like you’re just shouting at all of us …
The entire post is being typed into the headline section.
dnevil001, try putting the first sentence, or even half sentence into the first line, and then the rest down below. It flows much better that way, and is easier on my ‘ears.’
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
I don’t see why no one expects Rashad to be able to take Chuck down. While I’d agree it won’t be easy, Rashad will take him down. Rashad’s takedowns are way too explosive for Chuck to stuff everytime. I wonder how well Chuck will be able to get back up like he used to. It’s been a while since he had to deal with someone on top of him.
(formerly TheFightJournal)
I think a lot of people are thinking that Evans will try to take Liddell down and will get stuffed and then hammered in the process. If Evans can find a way to go for the takedown repeatedly without sustaining damage from Liddell, he might well be able to eventually get past the stuffs — but if he fails to get the takedown relatively quickly, he’s likely to eat a lot of damage and that will take a bit of the edge off his explosiveness for the next takedown attempt.
Why
do you expect that Rashad will be able to take him down? He could barely take down Tito and Bisping and certainly couldn’t capitalize when he did. Say anything about Rashad, but his last two performances were lackluster. If he comes out and beats Chuck, then I will change my opinion of him. This doesn’t change the fact that Rashad is the type of opponent Chuck has been feeding on since forever.
I could not agree more with you about Rashad’s past two performances. In fact, I find most of his fights lackluster. However, I just fail to believe he will be unable to take Chuck down the entire fight. He did have some trouble with Tito and Bisping and I expect him to have just as much trouble with Chuck. But eventually the fight always goes to the ground.
(formerly TheFightJournal)
Why do so many people assume
that Chuck will feel no ill effects from his hamstring injury? By all accounts it was a nasty injury and I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that he’ll be able to stuff the takedowns or pop right back up if he does get taken down…
i agree with this sentiment. who konws how well he has recovered, especially since he’s not the young buck he once was. one of these days chucks age is going to catch up with him, and i’m guessing it will be a rapid descent. could it be this weekend? LETS FIND OUT! (rubs hands together)
"No one makes me bleed my own blood."
by monkeyfightclub! on Sep 4, 2008 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Liddell should win, but...
I get kind of nervous when all the “experts”, and non-experts, are pulling so hard in one direction. Evans is no joke. He’s definitely capable of winning this bout.
Rashads stamina is pathetic. i don’t think he stands a chance
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