Knockout of Liddell Earns Evans Title Shot Against Griffin
UFC President Dana White announced at the post-UFC 88 press conference that Rashad Evans would next fight UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin for the 205-pound title, likely at the promotion’s year end event, UFC 92, on December 27th in Las Vegas.
Evans earned the title shot with a one-punch knockout of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in the UFC 88 main event.
Saturday’s event at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia drew a crowd of 14,736 for a live gate of $2.6 million, the second-highest gate since the arena opened in 1999.
“Me, Lorenzo (Fertitta) and Joe Silva decided tonight that Rashad would get the next shot,” said White at the press conference.
The Evans-Griffin matchup will co-headline UFC 92 along with an interim heavyweight championship bout between The Ultimate Fighter 8 coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the interim title-holder, and former champion Frank Mir.
For more on UFC 88 “Breakthrough” click here.
Well Deserved. Rashad Has beaten a lot of guys up, to get to this point. He definitely earned it.
yeah guna be good doesn’t have the same rin to it as liddell vs forrest but like ive said b4 u can just go on ur name/history, still in shock about that fight tho cant belive it
WOAHHH…HE GETS A TITLE SHOT????
MAN THATS SOME NEWS…I THINK FORREST WILL DEFEND IT PROPERLY….IT WILL NOT BE AN EASY FIGHT…BUT I THINK FORREST WILL GET HIM…THE ONLY WAY I SEEE RASHAD WINNING IS BY DECISION…
Come on Rashad! Thank G Chuck didn’t get a title shot, his time in the spot light is up. If he were to become champ that just wouldn’t seem right, when 5 or 6 guys can kick his A$$
wow that punch rashad threw was fkn awesome. hes such a cool ass mofo too for not goin crazy after that knockout, every other fighter would had to have shown off after that **** haha. but not evans man, he just kept his cool and how the hell was he so calm like that??
Hell yeah, why not !!!
If Cote & Lesnar can why not Evans while your at it Dana lets give Nate Diaz a shot at LW and Marcus Davies at WW.
Hooray for mediocrity !!!
us and check…rashad is deserving…he has been patient and he fought his way up to title contention..
Machida deserves a shot ahead of Evans far more talented and far more deserving…..
RASHAD HAS A BETTER RECORD IN THE UFC…AND HAS FOUGHT BETTER FIGHTERS IN THE UFC…
AND RASHAD ACTUALLY FIGHTS…MACHIDA RUNS!!
RASHAD DESERVES IT BEFORE HIM…
Us and Chuck is just pissed that “Chuck” got made to look like a b!tch in front of several hundred thousand people.
Evans is 17-0-1. Anyone else at LHW anywhere near that right now? Machida at 13-0. Thiago Silva at 13-0. Shogun at 16-3. Jardine at 13-5-1.
Who else gets it? Wandy is all but signed to a fight with Jackson. Machida, Vera, Sokoudju and Jardine are fighting at 89. Do you want champs to defend or not?
I got it. Let’s let Griffin fight no one for a year while we sort out a run at the title. Then we can all complain about how he never defended. That’ll really be a break from the usual, won’t it? Yeah, we don’t like that so much….
I’ve got it. Franklin is something like 26-3. Next title shot by default, right?
EXACTLY BIZ…
IF WE LET ALL THE TOP LHW’S FIGHT THEN DETERMINE WHO FIGHTS FOR THE TITLE THEN FORREST WILL HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG BEFORE HE DEFENDS…RASHAD IS THE BEST AVAILABLE..AND HE HAPPENS TO DESERVE IT THE MOST!!
CASE CLOSED!
Evans deserves it. Still a great punch.
Moot point… the decision has been made… Evans is on deck. All the other guys will still get their chance, we’re just not sure if they’ll be fighting Forrest Griffin or Rashad Evans…
O my god !!!! Ice man went to sleep
Now i hope , Tito comes back to the UFC to Kick Evans a$$ and gets a shop at the belt
No way I think Lyoto or Thiago Silva deserves it better
*shot
Lyoto has beaten top fighters from Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Sokoudjou and latest is Tito Ortiz. Rashad only beat Chuck and Bisping and the rest no name of MMA. They are both undefeated but Machida has fought top fighters, he may be boring to watch but hey he is good and has a great game plan
jayvy you are crazy…machida has not done what rashad has done in the UFC!!!! this is a different organization…we are not talking about what fighters do before they come to the ufc…if that was the case then you can justify numerous fighters being allowed to come to the ufc and get a title shot…rashad has defeated better fighters in the ufc…and he has actually fought!!!! he didn’t run and get the decisions…he actually stood toe to toe with another fighter and scrapped!!! unlike machida…
I like what im see’n in the UFC at the moment
lol Evans a happen man
look at the pic
UFC needs to evaluate the match up and records and who the fighters have beaten. yes a devastating finish like that really is something and will be a money in the bank for the next fight but they need to study and consider it properly. Like what happend to Fabricio Werdum, he lost his 1st fight then won against top contender gonzaga then a controversial win against my main man and country man Vera but i think he deserves it than Brock Lesnar
Ufc keeps pushing unmarketable fighters with good records down while they keep money makers with poor record for a quick title shot. Brock may have won against Hearing but he is just 1-1 in the UFC. Then its sickens me that if a win by Chuck puts him in a immediate title shot, come on man. Good thing he lost! really good thing
Im not a fan of Lyoto or Fabricio but as a MMA fan the UFC needs to put deserving fighters for a title shot and evaluate it pretty good. Pride doesnt care who fighters fight but they put deserving fighters for a title shot.
Rhymes, you have to remember that Anderson Silva had one fight in the UFC before he got a title shot… They have to consider the man and the record that he has and who he’s fought…
The man has a point Jayvy. Besides, Machida is still listed on the 89 card, so he has tons of time to lose his shot. Or if he wins, you push that fight with Griffin back even farther.
Let Evans have his shot. He’ll either lose, in which case he can be called a bum (maybe - it’s a stretch still) or he will win and prove that 18 wins and 1 draw with no losses just may not be a fluke.
In either case, Machida or someone else can always step up after that.
What I’m saying is, let Griffin fight and not BJ Penn himself by holding a title for a year and not defending it. Yes, I know Penn is fighting soon, but it ain’t for his title so it doesn’t count in my mind.
He’s a champ. He should defend. If he wants to move up, take the belt and let someone else fight for it. This weight class hopping is going to get really old really fast.
So yeah. Griffin fights ASAP. That winner fights ASAP. The winner of that one fights ASAP. Don’t mess around because everyone thinks someone “doesn’t deserve” a shot. If you have more wins and fewer losses (or more wins and equal losses) than someone else, you deserve it. Period.
but if liddell did beat evans….after winning against w silva…why wouldn’t he be in contention..those are two top lhw’s…if we would have fought another top lhw and won i would have saw no prob with him getting a title shot…but if he would have beat evans and immediately recieved a title shot..then yea, i would have been annoyed by that!
jayvy…
your making it seem like the ufc always does this…and that is not the case…the brock move was a complete business move…and yea it was unfair…but fights like that are what keep the ufc in business!!!!
sooo we have to deal with it..
Rhymeskill15 I’m not crazy but as a fan of MMA i did look and evaluate how they fight. Lyoto may not have a interesting fight but this i will say to you STYLE MAKES FIGHT. He is elusive and that his style of fighting so his oponents needs to study that and make a better game plan. Im not a fan of Machida but a fan of MMA we have to consider fighters record and the fighters they have beaten.
Evans will get his chance… there will be a new #1 contender. There will be other fights. Evans/Griffin is going to happen, so we can all sit back and enjoy that one.
Ok, let’s put it to rest. 17-0-1 as a professional MMA fighter is deserving of a title shot. Law of averages says he should have lost by now. He hasn’t. Let him fight and quit crying like a bunch of girls because your little pet fighter hasn’t got a shot.
Yes its business and i honestly is indeed excited about that fight i know UFC is a business and that is a business move but like i say fighters who are deserving needs to be fighting for that title
jayvy…
i understand your point…but i do not think that fights that occur prior to entering the ufc should help determine your title contention status…
i just do not feel that machida has beaten a top lhw in the ufc…and i do not feel that he has done enough to fight for a title…
dbiz…
i agree with you!
But having said that I think Rashad and Forrest will have a great fight. But UFC has to evaluate the fighters very well and sometimes set aside business move. I will ask you now in the heavyweight who is much deserving BROCK or FABRICIO?
in the middleweight MARQUARDT, LHEITES or HENDO?
welterweight, ALVES, SANCHEZ, KOSCHECK, YOSHIDA?
lightweight, SHERK, GRIFFIN, FROILAN, STEVENSON?