Oh Rashad, Rashad, Rashad.
How could you let me down like that?
Just when I had decided to start believing in you.
Two years ago, I thought you would lose to Tito Ortiz (and you just managed a draw).
I expected you to fall to Michael Bisping (you won a split decision).
I picked Chuck Liddell to take you out (and you knocked him out cold).
I didn’t give you a chance against Forrest Griffin (sensing a theme, here?)
So this week I said I’m not going to pick against you anymore. Even though I couldn’t come up with any convincing reason why I thought you would beat Lyoto Machida. After all, nobody had taken a single round from the Brazilian, let alone a fight.
But I had faith in you this time. You had the confidence from beating some really tough guys. You had the swagger. You had the belt. You had the best of the best in terms of training partners (GSP, Marquardt, Jardine, etc. at the almighty Greg Jackson’s camp). And I just thought you’d have developed the game plan that was going to slay The Dragon. (Obviously, I wasn't the only one.)
So when I and so many others had underestimated you time and time again and finally said, "No more!" -- you chose this time to put on that clunker of a performance!?
You showed a lot of heart, I’ll give you that. Lesser fighters probably would have succumbed earlier in the barrage of fists unleashed upon you. But boy was I wrong about you in this one.
As for Machida, could we be seeing the start of an Anderson Silva-like run with the belt? Two Brazilians dominating their divisions? Ed Soares' boys on top? The Dragon and The Spider?
Silva’s explosive finishes have been referred to as a "Symphony of Violence." I’d call Saturday’s performance by Lyoto a "Lullaby of Violence." Because he lulled Evans into a false sense of confidence and then took full advantage.
Machida used his usual elusive style, coming at him with just a few head kicks and punches. But when Evans was able to survive the first-round and early parts of the second -- and smile about it -- Rashad thought he had what it took to withstand what Lyoto gave him and be able to counter it, like he did when he KO'd Chuck Liddell.
Then, boom, it’s Rashad’s cradle that’s rocked.
Forward and back Machida goes, like a relentless wind that blows. Punishing Evans until he'll fall. And down comes Evans, cradle and all.
That kind of lullaby is enough to put anyone to sleep.
My initial feelings were Machida might be in for a long run as champ. Will he be able to match Silva’s? Probably not. There are a lot more capable challengers in the stacked 205-pound division than at 185. But who among them would you pick to beat Machida?
Dana White confirmed that Rampage is next. But does he have what it takes? I wouldn’t pick him.
So who else?
Liddell is done.
The other recent ex-champ Forrest Griffin? He couldn’t beat Evans!
Keith Jardine? Doubt it.
Shogun? Not the way he’s been fighting.
Rich Franklin, who’s moving to light-heavy regardless of his bout with Wanderlei? He might be the best bet, assuming Anderson is still considered better than Lyoto. But that’s looking to be a questionable assumption.
There are lots of challengers. But will they actually challenge Machida?
Time will tell.
THOUGHTS ON THE REST
GRUDGE SETTLED: The battle of Matts disappointed a bit in terms of the "bad blood," but it definitely didn’t disappoint in entertainment value. And while many thought Serra should have gotten the decision, I thought the judges were right on.
In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised with a 30-27 decision for Hughes.
That’s not to say I didn’t think it was close. It was VERY close. Hughes definitely won the second, but the first and the third could have gone either way.
It’s interesting because overall I think Serra had Hughes in more dangerous situations than Hughes did.
You could argue that overall Serra did more to win it. But when you break it down by round, I didn’t see Serra taking two of them.
CANADIAN PRIDE: It was a doubly sweet night for the Canuck contingent.
Krzysztof Soszynski showed he’s just as dangerous on his feet as he is on the ground. After Submission of the Night victories in his first two Octagon appearances, he took out Andre Gusmao -- on short notice, to boot -- with what I thought should have been Knockout of the Night. The Drew McFedries and Machida knockouts were obviously big, but what was impressive for the Winnipeg fighter was how he struck so quickly for the KO.
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s Tim Hague had a debut likely better than anyone expected, including him. He managed to survive some early standup punishment from Pat Barry and ultimately pulled off a fantastic rolling guillotine.
And the pure emotion and politeness displayed afterward by the former kindergarten teacher – "I want to thank Mr. White and Mr. Fertittas."– was in true Canadian spirit.
Not to mention saying he’s "ready to drink some beers!"
