# Rashad Evans knows he'd beat Anderson Silva, not gunning for 'bittersweet' fight



## Stun Gun (Oct 24, 2012)

> With UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva seemingly running short on contenders in his own division, fans and pundits alike have begun to look at other classes to bring him a proper challenge.
> 
> Rashad Evans (17-2-1 MMA, 12-2-1 UFC) is one the of the names being tossed about, but "Suga" isn't so sure he'd take the fight – even though he feels confident he'd walk away victorious.
> 
> ...


http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/rashad-evans-knows-hed-beat-anderson-silva-not-gunning-for-bittersweet-fight


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## Roflcopter (Sep 5, 2008)

Yeah okay Rashad.

I can't think of a more annoying group of people on the planet than pro fighters.


No pro fighter has ever lost a fight, they aren't afraid of anyone, they always have an excuse or some sort of reason for poor performances, etc.


Just shut up already. Get in the cage and show you won't get knocked the **** out like you did against Lyoto and then you can talk about all these imaginary matchup fits you'd give him like the last 4 guys Anderson disposed of.


At least he isn't as annoyingly brazen as Chris Weidman.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

No Rashad... No

What the hell sort of thing to say is that? Anderson would murder him and that will be the general consensus until Rashad proves otherwise.


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

If Rashad can handle the cut, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to handle Anderson.


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## GrappleRetarded (Jun 22, 2012)

TheLyotoLegion said:


> If Rashad can handle the cut, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to handle Anderson.


Because he's not a Jedi, like Anderson. Rashad just hasn't got that X-factor to take out an all time great like Anderson.


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

GrappleRetarded said:


> Because he's not a Jedi, like Anderson. Rashad just hasn't got that X-factor to take out an all time great like Anderson.


Neither was Chael Sonnen.

But that didn't stop him from buckling Anderson on the feet and beating him down for 23 minutes and winning 5 out of 7 rounds against him. Take into account that Rashad has more power, is faster and has better wrestling, the only real question mark would be if he can handle cutting to 185.


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## ptw (Aug 13, 2009)

TheLyotoLegion said:


> Neither was Chael Sonnen.
> 
> But that didn't stop him from buckling Anderson on the feet and beating him down for 23 minutes and winning 5 out of 7 rounds against him. Take into account that Rashad has more power, is faster and has better wrestling, the only real question mark would be if he can handle cutting to 185.


Rashad is a great athlete, but that's all he has going for him in this fight against Silva. Silva is a dangerous fighter, and Rashad isn't simply going to beat him by dry humping and throwing pitter patter punches at him in an attempt to win a decision...Silva is dangerous everywhere. 

Rashad's a smart guy, and I think he's just throwing his bait out there and seeing if Silva bites. Rashad vs Silva would do great numbers, and it's a pretty interesting fight, it also would bring into question whether Silva vs Jones should eventually happen. Jones fights Sonnen, Silva fights Rashad, we see the tension building.


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## GrappleRetarded (Jun 22, 2012)

TheLyotoLegion said:


> Neither was Chael Sonnen.
> 
> But that didn't stop him from buckling Anderson on the feet and beating him down for 23 minutes and winning 5 out of 7 rounds against him. Take into account that Rashad has more power, is faster and has better wrestling, the only real question mark would be if he can handle cutting to 185.


And Chael Sonnen didn't beat Anderson Silva, he got finished in the fifth round of the first fight and finished in the second round of the rematch.

Like I said, Anderson is on a different planet when compared to guys like Rashad. Rashad is an upper tier fighter for sure, but Anderson holds Jedi status. It takes Anderson a millisecond to find an opening that other humans beings simply can't see and instantly finish a fight.

If you lock Rashad in a cage with Anderson for twenty-five minutes, there's an extremely likely probability of Anderson finding his "moment" and instantly brutalising Evans without any one seeing it coming.


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## Old school fan (Aug 24, 2011)

Win or lose, it would be one hell of a fight, that's for sure!


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## rabakill (Apr 22, 2007)

TheLyotoLegion said:


> Neither was Chael Sonnen.


and he lost twice. Chael is awsome and all, but he lost legitimately twice.


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

So he is going to sit there and say Anderson isn't chomping at the bit to fight him. Yet he is the one who mentioned the possible move and can easily make it...yet he is fighting a guy ranked considerably lower than him at 205. 

That makes sense...

Does Rashad have a good style to win, yes. I agree. But he sounds like an idiot calling a guy scared basically yet he isn't even at the weight. Chael at least was at 185, beat top guys one by one while calling him out. Rashad is an idiot who will say this now then will stay at 205 anyway. 

Take a number and get in the back of the line, Anderson has 10 fights to run through all of you fools.


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## NikosCC (May 16, 2007)

I really would love to se this fight I believe Rashad poses a threat to Anderson his speed and agility will make for a great match up!


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## marcthegame (Mar 28, 2009)

Evans is one of my favorite fighter along with Anderson, he should just move to HW, I would hate to see what Anderson does to him. As good as Evans is he will try to trade punches with Silva, and that is when he will get beat down like he did vs Machida. Anyone can argue Evans is a great wrestler and has the style to beat Silva, but we all know he's too cocky and mentally weak to use his wrestling all five rounds.


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## Killz (Oct 5, 2009)

NikosCC said:


> I really would love to se this fight I believe Rashad poses a threat to Anderson his speed and agility will make for a great match up!


Agreed!

There is no other middleweight who poses as much of a threat to Anderson as Rashad does... If of course, he could make weight.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

Rashad is done.

He'll never come back from that loss to Jones.

Jones took his soul.


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## K R Y (Nov 19, 2007)

Rashad gets tagged and dropped by everyone. Anderson Silva won't flail and miss like a acid using botard like Rampage, or not even bother to try and finish like Thiago. 

Silva would humiliate him, as would Jon Jones if they were to meet again. All Rashad is is talk lately, he's done absolutely nothing.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

I am still bewildered by these quotes from Rashad... what is he thinking? 

Does he seriously expect us to believe that he could be a champion if he wanted, but he just doesn't want to go to 185?

Sounds awfully strange.


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## Soojooko (Jun 4, 2009)

> "I'm sure he's not chomping at the bit to fight me. He doesn't really have anything to gain from fighting me, so I don't know if he would even want to fight me. I don't know why he would go out of his way to fight somebody like me. If the UFC is not going to make him fight me, then I don't see why he would fight me."


me me me me me me mememememeeeeeeeee


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## Hellboy (Mar 15, 2008)

marcthegame said:


> As good as Evans is he will try to trade punches with Silva, *and that is when he will get beat down like he did vs Machida*. Anyone can argue Evans is a great wrestler and has the style to beat Silva, but we all know he's too cocky and mentally weak to use his wrestling all five rounds.


Well he won't have Greg Jackson giving him the worst gameplan ever. So that's a positive.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

Rashad does pose a legitimate threat to Anderson Silva. Much more than Chris Weidman does.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

Rashad has horrible gameplans so I think he would lose he would try and trade and get Ko'd will doing rocked crappy TD attempts, not everyone is sonnen who has the balls to get in anderson's face and punch him in the face and take him down like he is as mortal as anyone, also rashad doesn't have a better chin than chael.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

UFC_OWNS said:


> Rashad has horrible gameplans so I think he would lose he would try and trade and get Ko'd will doing rocked crappy TD attempts, not everyone is sonnen who has the balls to get in anderson's face and punch him in the face and take him down like he is as mortal as anyone, also rashad doesn't have a better chin than chael.


Overall he rarely has horrible game plans. Machida definitely and he should have tried a bit more for takedowns against JBJ but other than that when has this happened? He used his wrestling in every fight after Machida except JBJ.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Overall he rarely has horrible game plans. Machida definitely and he should have tried a bit more for takedowns against JBJ but other than that when has this happened? He used his wrestling in every fight after Machida except JBJ.


And those 2 are probably the 2 best he has fought which tells me he is not smart when gameplanning against the best and anderson is better than both.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

UFC_OWNS said:


> And those 2 are probably the 2 best he has fought which tells me he is not smart when gameplanning against the best and anderson is better than both.


Machida was the real dumb one. Rashad thought he was this great striker after stopping Liddell. Once Machida beat him he went wrestling mode. And JBJwasnt exactly an awful fight. Rashad had moderate success (which is more than most can say) and he went all 5 rounds (which nobody else can say).

Anderson is not like either though. He doesn't have the huge size advantage and the wrestling ability of JBJ and while he is elusive, it is in a different way than Machida.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Machida was the real dumb one. Rashad thought he was this great striker after stopping Liddell. Once Machida beat him he went wrestling mode. And JBJwasnt exactly an awful fight. Rashad had moderate success (which is more than most can say) and he went all 5 rounds (which nobody else can say).
> 
> Anderson is not like either though. He doesn't have the huge size advantage and the wrestling ability of JBJ and while he is elusive, it is in a different way than Machida.


eh I think he would be too intimidated like most of silvas opponents are to commit to anything threatening, weidman has the best chance imo


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

UFC_OWNS said:


> eh I think he would be too intimidated like most of silvas opponents are to commit to anything threatening, weidman has the best chance imo


How do you figure Rashad would be intimidated but Weidman wouldn't? Rashad is the only one of them that has been in big fights.


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## UFC_OWNS (Jul 7, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> How do you figure Rashad would be intimidated but Weidman wouldn't? Rashad is the only one of them that has been in big fights.


Because I can just see in weidman that he just doesn't give a ****, hey I could be wrong but that's just what I see, rashad not so much I've seen what he has to offer and it won't beat anderson.


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

GrappleRetarded said:


> And Chael Sonnen didn't beat Anderson Silva, he got finished in the fifth round of the first fight and finished in the second round of the rematch.
> 
> Like I said, Anderson is on a different planet when compared to guys like Rashad. Rashad is an upper tier fighter for sure, but Anderson holds Jedi status. It takes Anderson a millisecond to find an opening that other humans beings simply can't see and instantly finish a fight.
> 
> If you lock Rashad in a cage with Anderson for twenty-five minutes, there's an extremely likely probability of Anderson finding his "moment" and instantly brutalising Evans without any one seeing it coming.





rabakill said:


> and he lost twice. Chael is awsome and all, but he lost legitimately twice.


And Chael lost the first fight because of submission defense, Rashad's submission defense? Pretty solid from what I've seen, I can't recall him ever being in danger from a submission attempt which would be Anderson's only hope of winning because I don't think he'd keep Rashad off of him.


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## TheNinja (Dec 10, 2008)

If Rashad can borrow someone else's chin he might have a chance.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

If Rashad is relentless enough I don't think Silva finds his chin.


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

HitOrGetHit said:


> If Rashad is relentless enough I don't think Silva finds his chin.


I don't think there is anything Rashad can do to prevent Anderson from finding his chin. Anderson is just too fast and too accurate. It would just be a matter of time.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

OUSOONERSOU said:


> I don't think there is anything Rashad can do to prevent Anderson from finding his chin. Anderson is just too fast and too accurate. It would just be a matter of time.


Anderson has been really good at that yes but he is fighting guys that are either totally committing to striking, standing right in front if him or backing up. He hasn't looked that stellar against the couple wrestlers that committed to takedowns that actually have the wrestling to get it done.

Do I think Rashad will definitely win? No. Is Silva the favorite? Yes. Does Rashad possess the speed and wrestling to make it his fight. Absolutely.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

HitOrGetHit said:


> If Rashad is relentless enough I don't think Silva finds his chin.


So let me get this straight. Rashad, who got hit clean several times by Tito freakin' Ortiz, is somehow going to avoid getting his chin tagged by Anderson Silva? Really?


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

aerius said:


> So let me get this straight. Rashad, who got hit clean several times by Tito freakin' Ortiz, is somehow going to avoid getting his chin tagged by Anderson Silva? Really?


I said if he is relentless enough he can get it done. There was an IF in there if you missed it again.

And let's leave the mmath out of it. It goes both way.

I could be like so you are telling me that Travis Lutter can take down Silva and Rashad can't? Really?

Chanel Sonnen can clip Silva but Rashad can't? Really?


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Anderson has been really good at that yes but he is fighting guys that are either totally committing to striking, standing right in front if him or backing up. He hasn't looked that stellar against the couple wrestlers that committed to takedowns that actually have the wrestling to get it done.
> 
> Do I think Rashad will definitely win? No. Is Silva the favorite? Yes. Does Rashad possess the speed and wrestling to make it his fight. Absolutely.


I use to think Rashad would be a good matchup for Spider back when Rashad was on his title run because he had such unique head movement. But IMO he isn't the same fighter post Machida. He is more gun shy on the feet these days it seems. I think Anderson is quite a bit faster then Machida and Machida had the speed advantage vs Rashad. I just think the speed is really the killer here for Rashad. It would be like nothing Rashad had ever seen before. 
I use to think it would be a good matchup but over the years I have changed my mind and as time goes on and the more I see the more I'm sure Anderson would hurt him badly. But that's just how I see it playing out.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

OUSOONERSOU said:


> I use to think Rashad would be a good matchup for Spider back when Rashad was on his title run because he had such unique head movement. But IMO he isn't the same fighter post Machida. He is more gun shy on the feet these days it seems. I think Anderson is quite a bit faster then Machida and Machida had the speed advantage vs Rashad. I just think the speed is really the killer here for Rashad. It would be like nothing Rashad had ever seen before.
> I use to think it would be a good matchup but over the years I have changed my mind and as time goes on and the more I see the more I'm sure Anderson would hurt him badly. But that's just how I see it playing out.


He did change after Machida. He remembered he is a wrestler and one of the best in the entire division.


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## Trix (Dec 15, 2009)

Would Rashad vs Silva interfere with Vitor and Rashad agreeing not to fight one another being on the same team: blackzilians?

Would be a shame if another blowout occurred.


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## HorsepoweR (Jun 1, 2007)

I would love to see Rashad fight Silva, that's the only Silva fight I'm interested in right now besides him moving up to LHW.


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

HitOrGetHit said:


> He did change after Machida. He remembered he is a wrestler and one of the best in the entire division.


Yeah I agree ultimately it was a change for the best. He kind of fell in love with his standup just like Kos did. Hard to beat when he sticks to his wrestling. But again I think the speed plays a factor in that department as well. Rashad is faster then most LHW and can get his shot on most guys in that division. With Anderson's style and speed I think it will be hard for Rashad to shoot in. Just looking at the list of guys Rashad has fought in his career the guys that have given him the most problems are the guys can match his speed or even have the advantage over him in that department. Jones, Machida and even Bisping. Anderson blows them all away when it comes to speed.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

OUSOONERSOU said:


> Yeah I agree ultimately it was a change for the best. He kind of fell in love with his standup just like Kos did. Hard to beat when he sticks to his wrestling. But again I think the speed plays a factor in that department as well. Rashad is faster then most LHW and can get his shot on most guys in that division. With Anderson's style and speed I think it will be hard for Rashad to shoot in. Just looking at the list of guys Rashad has fought in his career the guys that have given him the most problems are the guys can match his speed or even have the advantage over him in that department. Jones, Machida and even Bisping. Anderson blows them all away when it comes to speed.


Anderson is an entirely different fighter. He isn't elusive like Machida is. (He is elusive but he uses a lot more head movement where Machida comes in and out a lot more), JBJ had a huge reach advantage compounded with the fact that he has a very very good wrestling base. And Bisping has much better TDD than Silva has.


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Anderson is an entirely different fighter. He isn't elusive like Machida is. (He is elusive but he uses a lot more head movement where Machida comes in and out a lot more), JBJ had a huge reach advantage compounded with the fact that he has a very very good wrestling base. And Bisping has much better TDD than Silva has.


I see your points but IMO if Anderson was fighting at LHW he would be just as elusive as Machida with is speed. Also his TDD might not be quite as good as Bisping's but it's not far behind. Remember Anderson had a broken rib going into the 1st Sonnen fight and he looked worse then we have ever seen him. Not the same guy we saw before and after that fight. 
I'm not saying Rashad couldn't get some take downs. I just think eventually he gets caught with one of those fast, accurate punches. Especially if it's a 5 round fight.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

HitOrGetHit said:


> I said if he is relentless enough he can get it done. There was an IF in there if you missed it again.


And if I had a bigger dick then Gina and Arianny will send me love letters and hop into bed with me. And let's be honest, the chances of that are at least the same or better than Rashad being relentless enough to avoid getting tagged on the chin by the best striker in MMA.

Let's put it this way, the only person who hasn't hit Rashad clean in the last few years is Phil Davis, everyone else has tagged him or dropped him. And speaking of the Phil Davis fight, that one shows that Rashad's ground game and top control is not nearly as good as it should be for a wrestler with his credentials. I've never seen someone get stuck in the crucifix position for that long and that many times without getting finished, or for that matter even bleeding. And it's not a one-off either considering how little he was able to do to Thiago Silva.

What I'm looking at here is overall technique based on many fights. Rashad has speed & power, but his striking technique, frankly sucks. He lost most of the exchanges against Forrest, same against Chuck Liddell, definitely against Machida & Jones, and he's been knocked down or wobbled by most of his opponents since he won the title. No good striker gets hit that cleanly so often. And he hasn't shown any real signs of improvement or evolution in his style so I have no reason to believe things will be any different if he fights Anderson Silva.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

OUSOONERSOU said:


> I see your points but IMO if Anderson was fighting at LHW he would be just as elusive as Machida with is speed. Also his TDD might not be quite as good as Bisping's but it's not far behind. Remember Anderson had a broken rib going into the 1st Sonnen fight and he looked worse then we have ever seen him. Not the same guy we saw before and after that fight.
> I'm not saying Rashad couldn't get some take downs. I just think eventually he gets caught with one of those fast, accurate punches. Especially if it's a 5 round fight.


Yeah and he got taken down in the second fight and was taken down by Hendo before Hendo wanted to strike with him and he was taken down by Lutter. Wrestling is obviously his weaker point and that his Rashads best. And Machida isn't a good example because Rashad didn't even try to take him down.



aerius said:


> And if I had a bigger dick then Gina and Arianny will send me love letters and hop into bed with me. And let's be honest, the chances of that are at least the same or better than Rashad being relentless enough to avoid getting tagged on the chin by the best striker in MMA.
> 
> Let's put it this way, the only person who hasn't hit Rashad clean in the last few years is Phil Davis, everyone else has tagged him or dropped him. And speaking of the Phil Davis fight, that one shows that Rashad's ground game and top control is not nearly as good as it should be for a wrestler with his credentials. I've never seen someone get stuck in the crucifix position for that long and that many times without getting finished, or for that matter even bleeding. And it's not a one-off either considering how little he was able to do to Thiago Silva.
> 
> What I'm looking at here is overall technique based on many fights. Rashad has speed & power, but his striking technique, frankly sucks. He lost most of the exchanges against Forrest, same against Chuck Liddell, definitely against Machida & Jones, and he's been knocked down or wobbled by most of his opponents since he won the title. No good striker gets hit that cleanly so often. And he hasn't shown any real signs of improvement or evolution in his style so I have no reason to believe things will be any different if he fights Anderson Silva.


Yeah Rashad gets tagged and Anderson is an elite striker. Silva gets taken down and Rashad is an elite wrestler.

I'm not saying that Rashad goes in there and is just going to rag doll Silva and win for sure. But history has shown that Silva has a problem with good wrestlers and that is exactly what Rashad is.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Yeah Rashad gets tagged and Anderson is an elite striker. Silva gets taken down and Rashad is an elite wrestler.
> 
> I'm not saying that Rashad goes in there and is just going to rag doll Silva and win for sure. But history has shown that Silva has a problem with good wrestlers and that is exactly what Rashad is.


Anderson's wrestling defence is his weak point, but it's also something that he's improved on as was demonstrated in the 2nd round of his rematch against Sonnen. Is it good enough to stop Rashad every time? Of course not. But it's good enough to give him plenty of chances to knock Rashad's head off over the course of a 5 round fight.

Also, Rashad is NOT an elite wrestler. Good, but not elite. Elite is GSP level when you can take anyone down any time with seemingly little effort. Rashad ain't that good, and furthermore as I pointed out earlier, his top control and ability to do damage is lacking.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

aerius said:


> Anderson's wrestling defence is his weak point, but it's also something that he's improved on as was demonstrated in the 2nd round of his rematch against Sonnen. Is it good enough to stop Rashad every time? Of course not. But it's good enough to give him plenty of chances to knock Rashad's head off over the course of a 5 round fight.


I would agree. I do think Silva will have chances to end the fight. I think that Rashads best chance would be to grab a decision using his wrestling and he would have to be insanely careful while the fight is standing.

This fight is just interesting because they each seem to have the counter for the other. But I think this fight completely comes down to how long Silva can keep Rashad off of him.


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

TDs don't finish fights.

Anderson, like in the Chael fights, has 5 rounds to find something. Probably his chin. 

Listen, I think Rashad has just as good of a chance as Weidman, maybe more (I actually think Weidman is much bigger than Rashad, and stronger). But if he isn't going to 185 this is all senseless thought. Maybe he wanted to get 1 easy enough win at 205 then challenge ANderson right away. Who knows. He makes little sense, which tells me he himself doesn't feel like getting KO'd. He goes and gets KO'd quick at 185 his career is in jeopardy as far as getting a top fight anytiime soon. He probably wants to accumulate some more wins and hope Bones leaves.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

Weidman is HUGE, I just rewatched the prelims for UFC on Fox 6 and when Bader beats Vlady, Chris comes up and stands with Bader and completely dwarfs him. I really wonder how much weight that dude cuts.


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## H33LHooK (Jul 13, 2011)

Just so we're clear:

Some people are seriously picking a guy who has ZERO fights at MW to beat the best MW who has ever lived? A MW who is showing no signs that he's on the decline in terms of skills or ability?

Okay then... carry on. :thumbsup:

.


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## K R Y (Nov 19, 2007)

El Bresko said:


> Weidman is HUGE, I just rewatched the prelims for UFC on Fox 6 and when Bader beats Vlady, Chris comes up and stands with Bader and completely dwarfs him. I really wonder how much weight that dude cuts.


I'd really like to see a screen of that purely for...


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

H33LHooK said:


> Just so we're clear:
> 
> Some people are seriously picking a guy who has ZERO fights at MW to beat the best MW who has ever lived? A MW who is showing no signs that he's on the decline in terms of skills or ability?
> 
> ...


To be fair Rashad is a former LHW Champion and was even ranked in the top 5 p4p in the past.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

H33LHooK said:


> Just so we're clear:
> 
> Some people are seriously picking a guy who has ZERO fights at MW to beat the best MW who has ever lived? A MW who is showing no signs that he's on the decline in terms of skills or ability?
> 
> ...


So Edgar has no chance of beating Aldo? Silva would have no chance of beating JBJ? GSP can't beat Silva?


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

K R Y said:


> I'd really like to see a screen of that purely for...


This won't help the current debate but still a wide variety of fighters.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

KRY i'll screen it now and then edit this post


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

Hendo looks like the smallest one there


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

jonnyg4508 said:


> Hendo looks like the smallest one there


Angles and who is closer to the camera could be a factor but Ace looks like the biggest and Fitch looks as big as Rashad.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

HitOrGetHit said:


> So Edgar has no chance of beating Aldo? Silva would have no chance of beating JBJ? GSP can't beat Silva?


Well, unlike the rest of those guys, Rashad has never successfully defended his belt.


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## Voiceless (Nov 8, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> So Edgar has no chance of beating Aldo? Silva would have no chance of beating JBJ? GSP can't beat Silva?


At least Silva is 3-0 at LHW.


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

aerius said:


> Well, unlike the rest of those guys, Rashad has never successfully defended his belt.


Could Cain beat Bones?


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

aerius said:


> Well, unlike the rest of those guys, Rashad has never successfully defended his belt.


So what? That's not very relevant to the conversation. His point was Rashad has never fought at 185. Edgar hasn't fought at 145, what does him defending the belt at 155 have to do with him never fighting at 145?



Voiceless said:


> At least Silva is 3-0 at LHW.


Against the greats Forrest Griffin, James Irvin and Stephan Bonnar. Even without that. GSP has no chance? Edgar has no chance?


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## H33LHooK (Jul 13, 2011)

HitOrGetHit said:


> So Edgar has no chance of beating Aldo? Silva would have no chance of beating JBJ? GSP can't beat Silva?


With respect, neither Aldo nor GSP is Anderson Silva, and I don't see how that's debatable in terms of anything really: wins, title defenses, stoppages, etc, etc.

GSP would be moving up, not cutting.

Edgar is likely still in the top 5 of most people's P4P list. Evans?

It's one thing to speculate that Rashad _might_ be _competitive_ in a fight against Anderson. But IMO, it's something else again to actually pick Rashad to win the title against a guy like AS in a five-round fight, at a weight class he hasn't competed in.

I do, hoever, want Rashad to make the move to MW, and I suspect his comments here are his attempt at drumming up interest, so it's all good.

.

.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

HitOrGetHit said:


> So what? That's not very relevant to the conversation. His point was Rashad has never fought at 185. Edgar hasn't fought at 145, what does him defending the belt at 155 have to do with him never fighting at 145?


It shows a history of consistent performance at the highest levels. Whether they can carry those skills and so forth to another weight class with the same results is a valid question, but it shows that they at least have those skills & attributes in the first place. Aldo, Edgar, GSP, Silva, and Jones are all proven fighters at the highest levels. Rashad is not. That is the difference.


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## OU (Sep 26, 2012)

aerius said:


> It shows a history of consistent performance at the highest levels. Whether they can carry those skills and so forth to another weight class with the same results is a valid question, but it shows that they at least have those skills & attributes in the first place. Aldo, Edgar, GSP, Silva, and Jones are all proven fighters at the highest levels. Rashad is not. That is the difference.


Rashad isn't proven at the top level? He is one of the best fighters in the UFC not holding a belt. Maybe the best fighter not holding a belt.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

aerius said:


> It shows a history of consistent performance at the highest levels. Whether they can carry those skills and so forth to another weight class with the same results is a valid question, but it shows that they at least have those skills & attributes in the first place. Aldo, Edgar, GSP, Silva, and Jones are all proven fighters at the highest levels. Rashad is not. That is the difference.


Rashad has consistently sat in the top few of a division much deeper than Anderson Silvas. You don't have to be a champion to show consistency at the top.

Frankie had 2 defenses. Just 2...


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> Rashad has consistently sat in the top few of a *division much deeper than Anderson Silvas.*


That is pure speculation.

Everybody at the top of that division is basically a shell of their former self aside from the guys who have risen up in the last couple of years (Teix and Gustafsson)

Hendo is 41, Shogun hasn't looked good for years, Rampage and Forrest are pretty much done. 

Bader and Phil Davis are overrated.

Just because LHW has big names doesn't mean it has better fighters.

Rashad got rocked and almost finished by Thiago Silva, Anderson would murder him.

Who has Rashad really beaten in the last couple of years?

A chinny Chuck, Forrest (who got mauled by Andy), Thiago Silva, a horrible looking Rampage, Tito Ortiz and a scrub in Phil Davis.

I know we are going way back now but Bisping gave him a hell of a fight and Stephan Bonnar won on one judge's scorecard. We know what happened to Bonnar.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> That is pure speculation.
> 
> Everybody at the top of that division is basically a shell of their former self aside from the guys who have risen up in the last couple of years (Teix and Gustafsson)
> 
> ...


And this is speculation as well. I just can't understand why people don't give Rashad a shot when his bread and butter s Anderson's weakness. 

And what is MW? What is so great about the top fighters there? You have Weidman and Vitor. Then what? Okami is decent, Munoz is only even close to the top because of how weak the division is, Stann is one dimensional, Bisping can't win a big fight to save his life. Belcher, Cung, Cote, Franklin are all mid level fighters. Boetsch is up and down, Lombard is unproven, Palhares is extremely overrated and Maia left. MW is in my opinion the weakest division above 145.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> And this is speculation as well. I just can't understand why people don't give Rashad a shot when his bread and butter s Anderson's weakness.
> 
> And what is MW? What is so great about the top fighters there? You have Weidman and Vitor. Then what? Okami is decent, Munoz is only even close to the top because of how weak the division is, Stann is one dimensional, Bisping can't win a big fight to save his life. Belcher, Cung, Cote, Franklin are all mid level fighters. Boetsch is up and down, Lombard is unproven, Palhares is extremely overrated and Maia left. MW is in my opinion the weakest division above 145.


It is speculation, you are right, but if Anderson had Rashad rocked like Thiago did, would you seriously argue that Rashad would recover? Now with that in mind would you argue that Anderson wouldn't find Rashad's chin (or body) in 5 rounds? You don't think Rashad is going to finish Andy, do you?

I'm not saying MW is the deepest division, i'm just saying LHW isn't either.

Rashad hasn't been dominating world beaters, he's beating up old dudes and scrubs.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> It is speculation, you are right, but if Anderson had Rashad rocked like Thiago did, would you seriously argue that Rashad would recover? Now with that in mind would you argue that Anderson wouldn't find Rashad's chin (or body) in 5 rounds? You don't think Rashad is going to finish Andy, do you?
> 
> I'm not saying MW is the deepest division, i'm just saying LHW isn't either. I'd actually rate the divisions like this.
> 
> Rashad hasn't been dominating world beaters, he's beating up old dudes and scrubs.


I never said that Rashad was a sure bet. I even agreed earlier that Silva would definitely have his chances to end the fight. But history has also shown that Silva has a harder time with wrestlers and I do not think that Silva is going to keep Rashad off of him all night. 

I could see Silva winning for sure. But I could also see Rashad controlling where this fight would take place.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

It'd be an interesting fight, but for AS I think it's the best possible one. I think he just outclasses Rashad on every level and adds another amazing highlight reel win to his record. Best fight for him imo.


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

El Bresko said:


> Weidman is HUGE, I just rewatched the prelims for UFC on Fox 6 and when Bader beats Vlady, Chris comes up and stands with Bader and completely dwarfs him. I really wonder how much weight that dude cuts.


Weidman looked pretty fat there but he is a big dude, he out-wrestled both Bader and Davis in college and walks around at about 220.

It's pretty incredible he cut all that weight in 11 days and beat Maia, even if Maia did look terrible, guy's an animal.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

HitOrGetHit said:


> I never said that Rashad was a sure bet. I even agreed earlier that Silva would definitely have his chances to end the fight. But history has also shown that Silva has a harder time with wrestlers and I do not think that Silva is going to keep Rashad off of him all night.
> 
> I could see Silva winning for sure. But I could also see Rashad controlling where this fight would take place.


It's hard to say that he's struggled with wrestlers when he's finished every single one of them though.

Well everyone since Jeremy Horn IIRC.

Rashad is good and i'd love to see the fight more than I would Weidman at this point but I believe he'd get put out in the 2nd round.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> It's hard to say that he's struggled with wrestlers when he's finished every single one of them though.
> 
> Well everyone since Jeremy Horn IIRC.
> 
> Rashad is good and i'd love to see the fight more than I would Weidman at this point but I believe he'd get put out in the 2nd round.


Hendo took him down and stole round from him before coming out looking to strike in the second. Chael completely dominated and while he did get tapped at the end, Rashad's BJJ is just better than Chaels. Chael seems to love getting tapped out. 

I can't say that if Rashad was in the position Chael was in that Silva would have a belt anymore.


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## RangerClydeTheBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

I dont think Silva would tap out Rashad like he did Sonnen, but I think Sonnens a lot better at rushing takedowns and better at keeping people there.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

OUSOONERSOU said:


> Rashad isn't proven at the top level? He is one of the best fighters in the UFC not holding a belt. Maybe the best fighter not holding a belt.


How many top guys did he fight? Let's go all the back to his debut after TUF. Hogar was a journeyman, same with Bonnar and Jason Lambert. Salmon was a can, Ortiz wasn't even a gatekeeper by then. Bisping was barely in the top 10 back then. Chuck was on the way down and had just lost to Keith Jardine of all people. Griffin was the first quality win and Evans was losing that one until the knockdown in the 3rd round.

Next he got tooled by Machida who was the first elite fighter in the list. Then he beat Thiago Silva who's a gatekeeper at best. Then Rampage when he was already on the way down, but still a top 5 at the time so I'll give him that. Ortiz was a journeyman at best, Phil Davis was borderline top 10, then he ran into Jones and got his ass whooped again.

So when we go all the way back, Rashad has gone up against 2 elite fighters, losing badly to both, and beat a top 5 guy on the way down. 3 top 5 guys, possibly 4 if you count Forrest, who, by the way was knocked out cold by Keith Jardine of all people. Total. In his entire career. This is not fighting at the highest level. Hell, Matt Serra has more fights against top fighters than Evans does.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

HOGH, Rashad isn't Chael, he's not willing to rush in and get the TD at all costs as we saw against Bones. Chael will look better against Bones than Rashad did IMO.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> HOGH, Rashad isn't Chael, he's not willing to rush in and get the TD at all costs as we saw against Bones. Chael will look better against Bones than Rashad did IMO.


I don't think Rashad will run in but I do think that he will stay out of trouble long enough to secure some takedowns. Whether or not he can keep that going and get a win, who knows.

And I disagree about Chael and JBJ. I think Chael gets finished without doing much damage if any.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

I think i'm just hoping more than anything TBH. I really can't stand Bones.


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## jonnyg4508 (Jan 30, 2010)

Machida/Rashad 2 and Hendo/Lil Nog 2 would be much better fights in my opinion.


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## St.Paul Guy (Mar 8, 2011)

What a stupid thing to say. This is why I don't like Rashad.


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## dlxrevolution (Jul 16, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> No Rashad... No
> 
> *What the hell sort of thing to say is that?* Anderson would murder him and that will be the general consensus until Rashad proves otherwise.





St.Paul Guy said:


> *What a stupid thing to say.* This is why I don't like Rashad.


What is wrong with someone saying they think they can beat Anderson Silva? What are they "Supposed" to say? 

"If I fight Anderson, I think I will lose"

Rashad is a former champion and a well proven fighter. I do think he has a legitimate chance of beating Anderson Silva. That being said, if the fight happens, I think Anderson's timing and quickness will eventually shut Rashad down and I think Anderson will finish, even if Rashad employs the same gameplan he did against Rampage. But my point is that there is nothing wrong with having the confidence to beat the best in the world, especially when you're not the best match-up for him.


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## Woodenhead (Jan 5, 2010)

If Rashad came at Silva like Sonnen did, he'd have a good chance. But I don't see him doing that... (Just IMO)


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## RangerClydeTheBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

No one can fight like Sonnen does. I think Sonnen is the ultimate underdog. Unless you're a submission heavy fighter, he has a chance to grind out anyone in the world to a decision. I've got a feeling we'll see Bones stopping him with Guillotine.

If Anderson fought Evans, it'd be one his best performances of all time imo.


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## MMATycoon (Aug 15, 2011)

I could could kick you ass. If I wanted to...I just don't want to...


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## St.Paul Guy (Mar 8, 2011)

dlxrevolution said:


> What is wrong with someone saying they think they can beat Anderson Silva? What are they "Supposed" to say?
> 
> "If I fight Anderson, I think I will lose"


How about "I think I could beat Anderson. I would like to fight him." Instead of proclaiming that he knows he'd win against a guy nobody has beaten in years.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

dlxrevolution said:


> What is wrong with someone saying they think they can beat Anderson Silva? What are they "Supposed" to say?
> 
> "If I fight Anderson, I think I will lose"
> 
> Rashad is a former champion and a well proven fighter. I do think he has a legitimate chance of beating Anderson Silva. That being said, if the fight happens, I think Anderson's timing and quickness will eventually shut Rashad down and I think Anderson will finish, even if Rashad employs the same gameplan he did against Rampage. But my point is that there is nothing wrong with having the confidence to beat the best in the world, especially when you're not the best match-up for him.



That's not the problem,

it's the fact he says "I can beat Anderson but I won't cut
the weight to win the title"

you know, a fighters ultimate goal......... if it's that easy then do it. He had nothing for Bones, he's not taking the LHW strap.


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## SM33 (Sep 22, 2009)

Rashad has nothing for Anderson.


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## HitOrGetHit (Jun 29, 2009)

I just don't get it. Honestly it's pretty laughable that people think Rashad has no chance. He has nothing for him? Yeah nothing except a very high level of wrestling. But what is wrestling in MMA?

I don't know if Rashad would win, but you are fooling yourself if you legitimately think Rashad has "nothing" for Anderson.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

He has as much of a chance as Chael did in the 2nd fight IMO. I don't think he's as good of a wrestler as Chael is though.


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## dlxrevolution (Jul 16, 2009)

St.Paul Guy said:


> How about "I think I could beat Anderson. I would like to fight him." Instead of proclaiming that he knows he'd win against a guy nobody has beaten in years.


The former would probably be the more polite thing to say as far as evaluating a potential opponent. However, there still isn't anything wrong with having the confidance in saying that you KNOW you can beat someone, no matter what their record is. I mean, it's not like Rashad hasn't established himself as a legitimate top fighter. As far as I'm concerned, with his skill set, and the right gameplan/execution, he CAN beat Anderson Silva. 

But maybe that's just my take.



El Bresko said:


> That's not the problem,
> 
> it's the fact he says "I can beat Anderson but I won't cut
> the weight to win the title"
> ...


It's obvious that Rashad has a lot of respect for Silva, and admires his accomplishments in the UFC.

Now I'm not disagreeing with your statement. But have you ruled out the possibility that maybe Rashad is passively calling Silva out by saying that he absolutely knows that he would beat Silva, so essentially he won't waste time cutting weight?


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

dlxrevolution said:


> It's obvious that Rashad has a lot of respect for Silva, and admires his accomplishments in the UFC.
> 
> Now I'm not disagreeing with your statement. But have you ruled out the possibility that maybe Rashad is passively calling Silva out by saying that he absolutely knows that he would beat Silva, so essentially he won't waste time cutting weight?


I think it's quite possible that Dana told Rashad to say this, to see what the reactions from the online community would be and to stir up interest in the fight.

I don't see any point in calling out the champ from the division below you unless you are going to go to him or are already a champ.

I like what Cormier is doing with Bones, but to say you can definitely beat someone but won't go to their weight to do it is pretty retarded IMO.


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## dlxrevolution (Jul 16, 2009)

El Bresko said:


> I think it's quite possible that Dana told Rashad to say this, to see what the reactions from the online community would be and to stir up interest in the fight.
> 
> I don't see any point in calling out the champ from the division below you unless you are going to go to him or are already a champ.
> 
> I like what Cormier is doing with Bones, but *to say you can definitely beat someone but won't go to their weight to do it is pretty retarded IMO.*


Actually after re-reading, Evans didn't say that he wasn't going down to 185 lbs. All he said was that he wanted to do a practice cut to 185 lbs first to see if he could even make the weight, and that he wanted to fight the best whether it be Bones Jones or Anderson Silva. The closest he came to saying that he wasn't going down was that "it would be bittersweet because he knows he'd win". So it's not like he's ruling out the possibility all together.


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## The Dark Knight (Jun 29, 2008)

aerius said:


> It shows a history of consistent performance at the highest levels. Whether they can carry those skills and so forth to another weight class with the same results is a valid question, but it shows that they at least have those skills & attributes in the first place. Aldo, Edgar, GSP, Silva, and Jones are all proven fighters at the highest levels. Rashad is not. That is the difference.




Dumb statement.

Rashad's a bad match up for Anderson, anybody not wearing dickhead goggles knows this. You don't like Rashad, we get it. But to say he hasn't proven himself at highest levels is absurd. He was the undefeated LHW champion, only Machida and JBJ can say that too. He has been beating fighters in the top 10 and even top 5 for at least 6 years now, with only 2 loses, two championship fights in which he had horrible gameplans for. So what if he didn't defend the belt? Neither did Machida and Shogun. He still became a champion. I don't buy into all this 'your not the champ until you defend the belt' bullshit that Matt Hughes came up with. Perhaps they aren't proven high level fighters either? He's the only one to go 5 rounds with Jones and actually make it competitive at some points in the fight. 

Rashad is just as proven as your Edgar's, your Aldo's and your Silva's.


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## Guy Incognito (Apr 3, 2010)

The Dark Knight said:


> Dumb statement.
> 
> Rashad's a bad match up for Anderson, anybody not wearing dickhead goggles knows this. You don't like Rashad, we get it. But to say he hasn't proven himself at highest levels is absurd. He was the undefeated LHW champion, only Machida and JBJ can say that too. He has been beating fighters in the top 10 and even top 5 for at least 6 years now, with only 2 loses, two championship fights in which he had horrible gameplans for. So what if he didn't defend the belt? Neither did Machida and Shogun. He still became a champion. I don't buy into all this 'your not the champ until you defend the belt' bullshit that Matt Hughes came up with. Perhaps they aren't proven high level fighters either? He's the only one to go 5 rounds with Jones and actually make it competitive at some points in the fight.
> 
> Rashad is just as proven as your Edgar's, your Aldo's and your Silva's.


The Dark Knight Rises.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

The Dark Knight said:


> *Dumb statement.*
> 
> 
> Rashad is just as proven as your Silva's.


Tell me that isn't the pot calling the kettle black..


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

The Dark Knight said:


> Rashad's a bad match up for Anderson, anybody not wearing dickhead goggles knows this. You don't like Rashad, we get it.


Actually, wrong. I'm completely indifferent towards Rashad, I neither like him nor dislike him. And he's only a bad match up for Anderson IF he fights to a perfect gameplan and executes it perfectly for the entire fight, something which he's never done.



> But to say he hasn't proven himself at highest levels is absurd. He was the undefeated LHW champion, only Machida and JBJ can say that too. He has been beating fighters in the top 10 and even top 5 for at least 6 years now, with only 2 loses, two championship fights in which he had horrible gameplans for. So what if he didn't defend the belt? Neither did Machida and Shogun. He still became a champion. I don't buy into all this 'your not the champ until you defend the belt' bullshit that Matt Hughes came up with. Perhaps they aren't proven high level fighters either? He's the only one to go 5 rounds with Jones and actually make it competitive at some points in the fight.


And his road to the championship was filled with cream puffs, hell, Bisping's the only other high profile fighter I can think of with as many freebie fights on his record. His biggest win in the streak was a washed up Chuck Liddell who had just lost to Keith freakin' Jardine. I'll give him his due for beating Griffin, but let's be honest, he was getting solidly outpointed up until he lucked into a knockdown in round 3.

As for Machida, he defended his title against Shogun, whether you like the decision or not (I don't, but that's a different story). As for Shogun, he hasn't been an elite fighter since his win over Machida, his technique and fight smarts have gone to shit and he only pulls out wins because his toughness and and punching power.

Furthermore, gameplans, and the intelligence to recognize when they aren't working and make the appropriate adjustments are just as important as physical & technical skills. This, by the way is why Shogun sucks ass these days and why Rampage was able to squeak out a decision against Machida. As you've admitted yourself, Rashad is a complete dumbass with gameplans in championship fights, why do you suddenly expect him to grow a brain and fight smart against Anderson Silva? Let me guess, 3rd time's the charm? He had the stupid beaten out of him by Jon Jones? Until he proves otherwise, there's no reason to believe he'll fight smart and use the right gameplan, and unless he can do that he's dead meat against Anderson Silva.


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## The Dark Knight (Jun 29, 2008)

> Actually, wrong. I'm completely indifferent towards Rashad, I neither like him nor dislike him. And he's only a bad match up for Anderson IF he fights to a perfect gameplan and executes it perfectly for the entire fight, something which he's never done.


Rashad's never executed a perfect gameplan? Lol, pull the other one, mate. So using his superior speed to counter fight the counter fighterin Chuck Liddell so that Liddell got frustrated and walked into a bomb wasn't a perfect gameplan? Mixing high and low striking with technical wrestling in order confuse Rampage and keep him guessing wasn't a perfect gameplan? I could go on, but then, i'd only be embarrassing you.



> And his road to the championship was filled with cream puffs, hell, Bisping's the only other high profile fighter I can think of with as many freebie fights on his record. His biggest win in the streak was a washed up Chuck Liddell who had just lost to Keith freakin' Jardine. I'll give him his due for beating Griffin, but let's be honest, he was getting solidly outpointed up until he lucked into a knockdown in round 3.


You're just taking the piss now. You're suggesting Dana, who didn't even rate Rashad up until the Forrest fight, fed Rashad easy fights? Like i've said before, Jason Lambert was a fighter on like a 5 or 6 win streak before being bumped off in convincing fashion by Rashad. Stephen Bonnar has always been a solid fighter. Not great, but he had far more experience than Rashad and Rashad just rag dolled him around like nobody's business. Chuck was a former LHW who was coming off a great performance against Wanderlei Silva. He had only lost to Rampage and had a bad night against Keith Jardine. 

He had also fought a super heavyweight in Brad Imes, who whilst not super skilled, had a ridiculous size and height advantage over Rashad. 

And so what if he was getting outpointed by Griffin? He was NEVER in any danger in that fight, and Rashad knew it. When he decided that he had enough of the stand up, he took Griffin down and finished him in less than a min.


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## The Dark Knight (Jun 29, 2008)

El Bresko said:


> Tell me that isn't the pot calling the kettle black..


Rashad is a proven top fighter, just like Silva.


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## Canadian Psycho (Apr 22, 2007)

Evans is only a bad match-up for Silva if he decides to utilize his wrestling. The Evans who fought Davis might make it interesting. The Evans who fought Jones would be doing the stanky-leg in under two rounds.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

The Dark Knight said:


> Rashad's never executed a perfect gameplan? Lol, pull the other one, mate. So using his superior speed to counter fight the counter fighterin Chuck Liddell so that Liddell got frustrated and walked into a bomb wasn't a perfect gameplan? Mixing high and low striking with technical wrestling in order confuse Rampage and keep him guessing wasn't a perfect gameplan? I could go on, but then, i'd only be embarrassing you.


Chuck I might give you, but not Rampage, considering that he got floored in the 3rd round, and were it not for Rampages ineptitude he would've been finished. 



> You're just taking the piss now. You're suggesting Dana, who didn't even rate Rashad up until the Forrest fight, fed Rashad easy fights? Like i've said before, Jason Lambert was a fighter on like a 5 or 6 win streak before being bumped off in convincing fashion by Rashad. Stephen Bonnar has always been a solid fighter. Not great, but he had far more experience than Rashad and Rashad just rag dolled him around like nobody's business. Chuck was a former LHW who was coming off a great performance against Wanderlei Silva. He had only lost to Rampage and had a bad night against Keith Jardine.


And who did the mighty Jason Lambert beat in his win streak? No one in the top 20, that's for sure. And Bonnar, much as I love the guy, is much the same, his only notable win is Keith Jardine. Oh, and Chuck had a bad day against Jardine, yeah, ok, whatever. If you want to play that game then Forrest just had a bad day against Rashad.



> And so what if he was getting outpointed by Griffin? He was NEVER in any danger in that fight, and Rashad knew it. When he decided that he had enough of the stand up, he took Griffin down and finished him in less than a min.


So it took him 2.5 rounds to decide that he'd enough? I guess it had nothing to do with Forrest breaking his hand during the fight which allowed Rashad to finish it? Forrest just got unlucky and had a bad day, if he didn't break his hand in that fight he'd have won an easy decision.

And once again, you, yourself admitted that Rashad used a complete dumbass gameplan in both of his championship fights against Jones and Machida. You know, the one he just lost? And you have reason to believe he'll suddenly smarten up and execute a smart perfect plan against Silva?


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## <M>MA (Nov 20, 2006)

I'm guessing if this fight does happen it'll just be a dance-off in the middle of the cage, no punches thrown, judges will decide the victor... He who hath the best choreography wins.


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## The Dark Knight (Jun 29, 2008)

> Chuck I might give you, but not Rampage, considering that he got floored in the 3rd round, and were it not for Rampages ineptitude he would've been finished.


You keep mentioning the 'were it not for' and 'if's'. Nobody gives a shit about what might have happened, i'm more interested in what ACTUALLY happened, and what happened in the Rampage fight is Rashad outsmarted Rampage, got into a little trouble in the 3rd round, and survived to come back and steal the round again. That's the mark of a true warrior, imo. 






> And who did the mighty Jason Lambert beat in his win streak? No one in the top 20, that's for sure. And Bonnar, much as I love the guy, is much the same, his only notable win is Keith Jardine. Oh, and Chuck had a bad day against Jardine, yeah, ok, whatever. If you want to play that game then Forrest just had a bad day against Rashad.


If you're cool with discrediting other fighters records, then go for it. But Keith Jardine, Brad Imes, Stephen Bonnar, Jason Lambert, Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin aren't gimme fights. Then going on to beat T.Silva, Rampage, Tito Ortiz and the highly rated Phil Davis doesn't make you a non top fighter. That makes you an elite fighter.




> So it took him 2.5 rounds to decide that he'd enough? I guess it had nothing to do with Forrest breaking his hand during the fight which allowed Rashad to finish it? Forrest just got unlucky and had a bad day, if he didn't break his hand in that fight he'd have won an easy decision.


Rashad remembered that he had something over Forrest. I don't know about Forrest breaking his hand or whatever, but I know that Rashad took him down the moment he realised he was out pointed, and then that was it. You're trying to tell me that even if Forrest had broken his hand, it would have saved him from the ground and point assault that Rashad put on him yeah??? Besides, it wasn't that bad, Rashad was outpointed yeah, but he was so confident in Forrest's lack of power that he stood and taunted him before taking him down in the next round and ending it. Easy decision? Lol, the harder strikes were thrown by Rashad. 



> And once again, you, yourself admitted that Rashad used a complete dumbass gameplan in both of his championship fights against Jones and Machida. You know, the one he just lost? And you have reason to believe he'll suddenly smarten up and execute a smart perfect plan against Silva?


Yes, Rashad used terrible game plans versus Machida and Jones. So, what, he's doomed to have bad game plans everytime he has a championship fight? He isn't capable of executing a good game plan against Silva all because he didn't against Jones and Machida?? Rashad often learns from his mistakes. He adapts, it's one of the reasons he became the champ. There isn't any logical reason to suggest he wouldn't have a strong game plan against Silva. Sonnen laid down the blue print, Rashad just has to implement the plan, and I think he could. Silva's weakness is Rashad's strength, and Silva may have the stand up advantage, but Rashad's ever improving striking and athleticism is less a gap than the grappling aspect of the fight is.

I respect Silva a lot, i'll never look past a man who has defended the belt over 10 times, but I have Rashad winning 7 times out of 10, at least. Just a bad match up, that's all there is to it.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

The Dark Knight said:


> Rashad remembered that he had something over Forrest. I don't know about Forrest breaking his hand or whatever, but I know that Rashad took him down the moment he realised he was out pointed, and then that was it. You're trying to tell me that even if Forrest had broken his hand, it would have saved him from the ground and point assault that Rashad put on him yeah??? Besides, it wasn't that bad, Rashad was outpointed yeah, but he was so confident in Forrest's lack of power that he stood and taunted him before taking him down in the next round and ending it. Easy decision? Lol, the harder strikes were thrown by Rashad.


If you read the interviews from back then, the reason Forrest had trouble defending himself after he got taken down was because his hand was broken. He couldn't get wrist control (a broken hand gets in the way there) and eventually he ate too many punches and got put out.

With regards to not respecting Forrest's power, the way you do that is the Anderson Silva fight or the Shogun rematch. As in dodge or walk through everything Griffin can throw and knock his ass out in the 1st round. 





> Yes, Rashad used terrible game plans versus Machida and Jones. So, what, he's doomed to have bad game plans everytime he has a championship fight? He isn't capable of executing a good game plan against Silva all because he didn't against Jones and Machida?? Rashad often learns from his mistakes. He adapts, it's one of the reasons he became the champ.


Yeah, he learned so well from the Machida fight that he did the same thing all over again in the Jones fight. Yup, let's stand & trade with a better striker who also has better range control, and forget about wrestling. Brilliant! I guess it's possible that Machida hit him so hard that he can't remember the fight, and that's why he fought the same way against Jones.


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## joshua7789 (Apr 25, 2009)

Saying that your not gonna fight the best fighter on the planet because you know you can beat him is stupid. That is all.


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

The Dark Knight said:


> Rashad is a proven top fighter, just like Silva.


I didn't say he's not proven.

To say he's "just as proven" as a guy like Anderson is utterly ridiculous.


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## OHKO (Jul 11, 2010)

aerius said:


> If you read the interviews from back then, the reason Forrest had trouble defending himself after he got taken down was because his hand was broken. He couldn't get wrist control (a broken hand gets in the way there) and eventually he ate too many punches and got put out.
> 
> With regards to not respecting Forrest's power, the way you do that is the Anderson Silva fight or the Shogun rematch. As in dodge or walk through everything Griffin can throw and knock his ass out in the 1st round.
> 
> ...


Maybe its because Jones managed to keep the distance well and it makes it hard for Rashad to shoot in for the double or single without getting sidestepped and kneed in the head? Yea Rashad stood with a better striker, but still his chances of stepping in and landing power punches on the somewhat untested chin of Jones is better than shooting in on takedowns that won't succeed. He might have even gotten finished if he shot for takedowns all night long. You talk like Rashad is dumb. If he is that dumb he won't be fighting at such an elite level.


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## The Dark Knight (Jun 29, 2008)

El Bresko said:


> I didn't say he's not proven.
> 
> To say he's "just as proven" as a guy like Anderson is utterly ridiculous.




Oh, i'm sorry, I didn't realise you had your own definition on what a proven fighter is. Because I always thought that a proven fighter was one who constantly competes against the best in his division and often wins. Both Rashad and A.Silva fit that definition. If you were smart and not fussed about making up your own 'proven' hierarchy, you'd understand that.


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## aerius (Nov 19, 2006)

So yeah, what were you saying about Rashad learning from his mistakes and fighting a good gameplan? Look who stood and played patty-cake with a better striker. Again. 

What would the kids these days say? I believe the term we're looking for is "epic fail ROFL!"


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## El Bresko (Mar 12, 2010)

The Dark Knight said:


> Oh, i'm sorry, I didn't realise you had your own definition on what a proven fighter is. Because I always thought that a proven fighter was one who constantly competes against the best in his division and often wins. Both Rashad and A.Silva fit that definition. If you were smart and not fussed about making up your own 'proven' hierarchy, you'd understand that.


Are you a bit sad that your boy looked PATHETIC tonight?

You said he's "Just as proven", proven, yes. He's nowhere near as proven as Anderson. Swallow your pride and admit it, it's getting sad now.


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## Purgetheweak (Apr 23, 2012)

Rashad needs to change camps if he ever wants to have a slight chance against Anderson.


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## xRoxaz (May 6, 2010)

at this point i think Rashad needs to retire if he wants to keep his name up with the Elites in history. Rashad does not have that hunger nor the speed or timing he used to, and at this point i would put Glover, Gustaffson, Feijao, Machida and Vitor all above him at LHW. I would however like to see how he would do against Shogun and Hendo.


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