...Will he FINALLY Gain Universal ACCEPTANCE???... REED Himself has Found Rashad HARD to Digest...His Fights R Rather BORING Until the Very Moment that Rashad ENDS Them & his Personality is Rather BORING as Well...Rashad ISN'T a Bad Guy or a Bad Fighter, but there's just Something there that PREVENTS him from Being Lauded as Other Undefeated UFC Champions would B... Is Machida THE GUY to Help REMOVE This Stigma that Rashad Evans Carries OR will there STILL B Questions, Doubts & Uncertainties about ACCEPTING him, even If he Wins????... REED:hammert:
Evans can go 100-0, beating Fedor by KO 50 times along the way, but because he came up through TUF, there will be MMA fans out there that still would refuse to give him any credit. Personally, I think Evans is an excellent fighter who has improved greatly since his TUF days. He seems to be getting better, and more confident with every fight. Can he beat Machida? I don't know. But I'm looking forward to the fight. Of course, I'll be in the middle of the woods camping that weekend, so I'll have to watch it when I get back on Monday. TFK
Ah!!!...O.K...That Explains Alot...Based on that, There's NOfuckingWAY that Rashad will B Accepted by Most MMA ELITISTS...But Then Again, Being on TUF HASN'T Really Hurt Forrest Griffin, Has it???... REED:dunno:
If he wins in impressive fashion without boring people to tears he'll get a lot more acceptance. I don't know about "universal" but it would be one more step towards it.
I am actually becoming an Evans fan. He is beginning to win in a more fan friendly fashion and is taking more risks to keep things exiting. I also like his attitude. He seems like a cool guy. That being said, he will ABSOLUTELY have my respect if he beats Machida. Machida is seen as one of the best up and comers, has fought some great opponents, and always coming out on top, decisively. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
Good thread REED. TFK is right as usual, the TUF show has been huge for growing the popularity of the UFC, but traditional MMA fighters/fans/critics always seem to give the fighters who come out of it the * next to the fighter's skills/record. Evans has been a tough pill to swallow, mainly on his boring style. But like Bob N Weave, I am growing to like him more and more. He has improved huge since the show. With that said, I give him only a puncher's chance against Machida. I am predicting a 5 round shutout dominant but somewhat complacent UD for Machida. BUT....if Rashad wins he definitely gets props from this fan:kidcool:
I thought he beat Tito. The right hand he kncked out Lidell with was awesome. He stopped Griffin. He beat Bisping in England, if I'm not mistaken. He was primarily a wrestler with some striking ability. Now he is a much better fighter. with very good movement, power, strong leg kicks, good ground and pound. I don't underestimate him at all. Machida will give him problems with his standup. The winner should face Jackson.
Forrest basically is a big goof and an overachiever. It's his size, reach and stamina that has made the difference. Skill-wise and talent-wise, he's pretty f*cking sh*t like Tim Sylvia.::
I mean when you look at both... It's pretty clear what the reason is behind all this, isn't it, REED? :dunno:
This thread should be titled WHEN Rashad beats Machida. Rashad has fought the better competition. BJ Penn out of his regular weightclass isn't that much of a stretch for Machida. I don't think Rashad will get any credit until he beats some other top 205 fighter like Rampage.
I do not like Rashad and it has nothing to do with TUF. The guy is just a douche. Anyway he aint beating Machida - Evans is getting that ass kicked.
I don't know if I would call him a "douche" - he seems too dull to be a douche. I just don't like him. It has nothing to do with TUF either, I didn't start watching TUF until recently, I didn't even know he was on it. I just don't find him likeable at all. He is boring in the ring, and he doesn't have a character that you warm to. However, I'm still not sure about this fight. I always pick against Evans and he always ends up winning. Though I do think he lost against Ortiz, which is certainly not a good result. As good as Machida looks though, he's not as proven as Evans is he?
REED is Actually STOKED for the Fight Tonight, but REED'll B Covering a Local Fight Card in Ft. Worth...R There Any REPLAY Streams????.... REED KNOWS Machida's the Overwhelming Favorite, but REED's Rolling w/Rashad...As Good as Machida's Defense is, his Chin is Still an UNKNOWN Quality (Even Though Watching Antonio Inoki Slap the Shit Out of him 3 Times was IMPRESSIVE::)...@ SOME Point, Rashad's Gonna Catch Machida w/a FLUSH Shot & Take him Out... Rashad by KO in the 4th.... REED:hammert:
I think Rashads stand up is being a little over hyped lately. His striking ability is pretty much been based by knocking Liddell out cold. I think that Rashads best bet is to figure out a way to catch Machida with a takedown and proceed to pound him out.
