The impending grudge match between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans may be fueled by more truly hard feelings than even Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen.
The former training partners under renowned coach Greg Jackson have been steadily stoking a rivalry that began when Jones was awarded a title shot and publicly agreed to defend the title against Evans, should he win. Win he did and would go on to do, defending the title twice against former champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida.
On the sidelines with injury, the timing has finally lined up to see Evans challenge for the belt. All of the resentment that Evans feels for having been edged out of Team Jackson by the younger fighter will come to a head. The intense desire that Jones has to prove himself over his former mentor will be realized. Though clearly packaged to sell, this is no manufactured beef.
Tonight, on UFC Ultimate Insider on Fuel TV, Jones and Evans will meet face to face for one of the last times before they do battle. Judging by the promo below, the blood is running hot through both men.
Jones and Evans will meet at UFC 145, which takes place on April 21 from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Latest
This really is the fight I have been the most excited to watch. I flat out LOVE Rashad. And I the fact that he has beef with bones may or may not be the reason I have no use for bones, but I don’t care, I still love Rashad. Honestly I think rashad is being too sensitive to this whole situation, but I believe its mostly because Jackson saw what a beast bones was gonna be and kinda took more of a liking to him. And then of course there was all the raw, brutal, and kinda hilarious s#it talking bones did to rashad at the club and elsewhere. Bones may go down as the most dominant fighter of all time, but rashad is so damn pissed, determined, and hard that I will never count him out. In fact I’ll put my money where my mouth is and put a couple hundo on him +350 while in Vegas over the wknd!! This fight is going to be legendary!!
Persoanlly.
I love and hate them both equally.
Jon Jones: Initially I loved him because of his quiet persona and humble attitude that and the guy is very likeable! Then he started to open his mouth (yeah he is one of if not the best fighter in the world) but as soon as he started to rant on about crap I began to lose interest and he moved down my ladder of loved fighters.
Rashad Evans: Started out on the other end of the spectrumn to Jon Jones, basically what I mean is and we all saw it, in his first few fights in the UFC ( and ultimate fighter) he was cocky REALLY cocky so much so that you wanted to just gut him and rip out his entrails…..now he is becoming humbled a much more quiet (albeit still likes to talk shit) then what he once was fighter and I persoanlly like that so he moved up on my “fighters I like ladder”.
It will be a good fight because both fighters would of needed to come up with completely new things to throw at each other since both trained under the same camp.
Jon Jones has a lot of “weird” things he has performed before and that is what will catch Rashad like the rest, at the same time though Rashad is fast, LIGHTNING fast he has to be one of the smallest if not the smallest L/hvy if Rashad can pepper Jones enough whilst avoiding the lethal strikes that Jones can bring forth, then I see Rashad walking away with the belt.
In the end, there is one thing I would like to see, it would be Jon Jones laying flat on his back KO’d because well we all seen Rashad like that (cough Machida cough) and ‘aint NOTHING more humbling then getting your ass KICKED/HANDED TO YOU’ (Mike Tyson).
I see Jon Jones winning via fight stoppage either KO/Submission.
I see Rashad Evans winning via unamous unanimous decision.
machida was doing great till he walked into one, lost where he was in the ring and got chocked. hope rashad wins bad!!!every bones comments makes me like him even less.