Rashad Evans Fights Back Against "Ducking" Accusations Via Twitter
by S.C. Michaelson on Nov 8, 2010 11:57 AM EST
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PrintThere's been some press against Rashad Evans lately in regards to some comments he made recently about feeling antsy waiting for Shogun Rua to heal up from his injury. For the past few months, Evans has basically been called "afraid" of former champ Lyoto Machida as baseless rumors swirled that he "ducked" a fight with Machida in order to wait for Shogun to heal. Rashad responds via Twitter:
Let me address this article that was put out.. First of all im not impatient about waiting 4 Rua 2 heal especially since it was my choice 2 wait! The UFC did offer me a fight since Rua was gonna b out so long against Lil'Nog. But I turned it down cuz the fight made no sense 2 me. A fight with Machida would've made more sense but they matched him up with Rampage. Dana White told me from the beginning they wouldn't do Interm belt. So @ that point I decided I wait.
Now in this article it makes me sound as if I'm upset about waiting which is not the case. What frustrated me was I was hearing conflicting stories of when he was coming back. One moment Dana would say May then in the article he said the fight is scheduled 4 March. Also Rua manager said he will b out maybe longer than June. So I was frustrated on how the dates r ranging.. But like I said I chose 2 wait. But I had a clear idea on when the return may happen then it would effect choices I take.I'm all fighter I'm not afraid 2 fight anybody! My record would show that! I've fought some of the best men in my era & lost once. And 4 the last time I never got offered 2 fight Machida 4 a Interm belt. Ed Soares did a article saying it would b a good idea..
So basically, it's like I've been saying for months. Rashad Evans was never offered a fight against Machida. That was all Ed Soares in the media. I thought he was offered another fighter, but it turns out it was Lil Nog. A fight which made no sense. It's understandably frustrating for Evans as the timetable for Rua HAS been every-changing with everything from March to late spring to all the way to the early summer. Maybe some of the "ducking" comments can cease.
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i posted this a while ago on the fightlinker forums but it bears repeating
rashad’s last 6 fights have been against tito ortiz, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida, thiago silva, rampage jackson and soon to be shogun rua.
the shogun fight will culminate a nearly 4 year stretch when he hasn’t fought out of the top 10 (according to SBN/USA today rankings at the time of the fight). as far as i can tell, its the most brutal stretch of 7 fights in the history of the UFC
rashad is irritating sometimes but a bitch he’s not
my mother was right....no one cares what i have to say
jefferson davis' wife was hot....there i said it....and it actually feels good to finally get that out in the open
by glassjawsh on Nov 8, 2010 12:08 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
It's only rivaled by his teammate GSP.
I love the ABL crew. Y'all keep keeping it GREEN in this mofo
Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Nov 8, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
rashad is a man of his word. i believe him.
Why do canadians stick together? The same reason why Chris Horodecki turned his body and face around in his first WEC fight.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 9, 2010 2:34 PM EST up reply actions
Does anyone find it odd that Franklin McNeil, one of Rashad’s peers on MMA live, was the one who penned the rather negative article? Not that it needed to be a puff piece, but get the facts straight…..or is Rashad backtracking on some of his comments?
McNeil is a joke,
and a hater.
"From the womb to the tomb, spit sick lyrics like MF Doom"
Semper Fi'
WatchKalibRun.com
Pain don't hurt...
Evans building his brand.
It’s really odd that you say
" That was all Ed Soares in the media"
when Evans clearly state “Ed Soares did a article saying it would b a good idea..” The connotation is different.
On another note. While Evans has not been ducking fighters he has been playing the game of what’s the best fight that will help maximize the Rashad Evans brand. It’s something that top boxers often do and a reason why Pacquaio didn’t fight Shane Mosely before Mosley fought Mayweather Jr. Note, Mayweather was avoiding Mosley because the fight didn’t make sense for him on many levels.
- To date, now Rashad Evans turned down a fight against Randy Couture and in the end we got Brandon Vera versus Randy Couture. His reasoning? If he wins, he beats an old man. If he loses, he lost to an old man. Note, Shogun has no problem facing Randy Couture in the Octagon and has been vocal about it for quite some time. Extra note: Randy Couture wants fights that have meaning. If there is any one in the UFC that has earned that right, it is definitely the former light heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
- Now a Rogerio Noguiera fight doesn’t makes sense. Yes, I understand that it must be frustrating to wait on Shogun and hear conflicting dates about his return but if he does defeat Shogun will a fight against Noguiera still not make any sense? I don’t know, I’m just asking.
While I understand Rashad Evans is not ducking per se, eventually as a fan I’ll get tired of this posturing and brand building fighter. But honestly I can not be mad at Evans for trying to maximize his dollars.
- - - - -
VEe is ANIMated!
Oh yeah
In contrast, a fighter like Anderson Silva in the past has felt that certain fights did not make sense in his career but keep one thing in mind he still face Thales Leites, Patrick Cote, and Demian Maia. And while he apparently isn’t crazy with facing some opponents, he has signed contracts to face Vitor Belfort and will sign a Sonnen rematch although he doesn’t feel that his UFC117 challenger deserves a rematch.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Nov 8, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
In terms of Rashad’s “brand”, whatever that might be, isn’t far more detrimental shelving yourself for what could be a year, than fighting someone he might not deem worthy of his “brand”?
Out of sight, out of mind
and
What have you done for me lately
are two thoughts that cross my mind.
Yes, I think it is more detrimental to shelve yourself for a long period of time. I like the attitude of fighters that actively want to increase the number of fights that they have.
- Koscheck had 4 UFC fights in 2006 and 2008. That doesn’t happen often.
- In contrast Evans only had 3 fights in 2006 and 2007. Since then, he’s only had either 2 or 1 fight a year.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Nov 8, 2010 8:10 PM EST up reply actions
different when you're the champ
those guys were (for better or worse) #1 contenders. and when you’re champ you fight whoever the fuck DW tells you is the #1 contender
when you ARE the #1 contender you’d damn well better hold on to that title until you get your shot at the champ
pissing about this is dumb because we’d all do exactly the same thing
my mother was right....no one cares what i have to say
jefferson davis' wife was hot....there i said it....and it actually feels good to finally get that out in the open
When Liddell got shoved out of line by Shamrock for a shot at Tito’s belt he opted to face Babalu instead of sitting idle.
different era.
It was only a few years ago, but it was.
"From the womb to the tomb, spit sick lyrics like MF Doom"
Semper Fi'
WatchKalibRun.com
Pain don't hurt...
Agreed
See Jon Fitch’s career.
See Kenny Florian fight.
See Nate Marquardt get shafted and STILL accept fights. And guess what he loss to Chael Sonnen only to lose his opportunity. Next year he very well may be competing for the title with a win over Okami. He may be pissed but I’m sure Marquardt is still getting paid for being a fighter instead of posing in suits for ESPN.
Rollo Tomasi, “a different era” doesn’t apply here. I have more than enough recent examples.
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VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Nov 8, 2010 8:30 PM EST up reply actions
Ok, shoot.
Rollo Tomasi, "a different era" doesn’t apply here. I have more than enough recent examples.
"From the womb to the tomb, spit sick lyrics like MF Doom"
Semper Fi'
WatchKalibRun.com
Pain don't hurt...
Pissing about it is dumb.
Did you ever hear about a really great defensive boxer named Floyd Mayweather Jr. that tries to pick the best possible scenario in order to keep a perfect win streak? By the way, many boxers do the same thing, including Pacquiao. Please. Fighters takes risk. If you are better, if you are the #1 contender then you FIGHT. PERIOD. That’s what I LOVE about the UFC and that’s what I’m not crazy about the politics of BOXING.
If Rashad Evans said he didn’t want to fight Rogerio Noguiera or Couture because their his training partners then I would have no problem. But we’re not talking about Greg Jackson fighters. Like I said I understand the risk of losing that #1 contender status and all but let’s be serious. Did Jon Fitch and Kenny Florian ever pull this crap? They’re guys that actually defeated a number of opponents before getting their promised title shots. They’re not pulling these stunts.
Rashad Evans could make more money if he actually took the fight and then fought Shogun next year. If you feel you can compete and win the title again, I don’t see any problem. Get Money.
If you had a solid argument, I would simply give you props but you really didn’t offer any decent rebuttal.
- - - - -
VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on Nov 8, 2010 8:25 PM EST up reply actions
how quickly you forget
the time he took the chuck liddell fight on short notice after shogun got hurt ( i know they didn’t fight until 3 months later but he accepted it) or the time he accepted the machida fight after rampage got hurt even though it is a horrible style match up for him. dude’s been a trooper and a team player in the past and has earned the right to wait for his shot
my mother was right....no one cares what i have to say
jefferson davis' wife was hot....there i said it....and it actually feels good to finally get that out in the open
Yeah. Chuck was to fight Shogun at UFC 85 aka UFC cursed
Then Shogun got hurt and Rashad took the fight. Then Chuck fucked up his hammy. Look at Rashad’s fights over the last few years in a row. How can ANYONE question his heart and/or balls?
I love the ABL crew. Y'all keep keeping it GREEN in this mofo
Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
Follow me on Twitter
Read me at WatchKalibRun . Imma write til the wheels fall off.
by S.C. Michaelson on Nov 9, 2010 8:17 PM EST up reply actions
There is nothing to rebut because the argument is ridiculous, Rashad turning down a fight with Couture to face a fighter who actually matters more in the division is the right move. So is waiting for the title shot that he earned by beating Rampage and Thiago, this isn’t a guy who is ducking top fights to fight lesser fighters, Rashad has faced a who’s who of top LHW’s for the past couple of years. He’s earned his position and the idea that he’s ducking anyone at this point is laughable, i’m glad that he cleared up those comments and was just speaking about his frustrations with hearing conflicting things about when Shogun is coming back.
"they mad at me, I keep going hard reppin/
cause what's your Rampage to Rashad Evans/"
-Joe Budden (Something To Ride To)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76866807deabe3c1/
by Nightwhistler on Nov 9, 2010 3:56 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
this
my mother was right....no one cares what i have to say
jefferson davis' wife was hot....there i said it....and it actually feels good to finally get that out in the open
rashad is ducking noone. if he wins vs rua he will fight machida. if he losses he will have to beat someone......
else in the top ten to face machida. it’s a round robin thing in the ufc.
Why do canadians stick together? The same reason why Chris Horodecki turned his body and face around in his first WEC fight.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 9, 2010 2:39 PM EST reply actions
