Rashad Evans avoids brush with defeat, edging out Thiago Silva at UFC 108
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans managed to survive some extremely shaky moments in the final minutes of his UFC 108 showdown with Thiago Silva to edge out the dangerous Brazilian via unanimous decision in a scrap that looked more like a wrestling clinic for the bulk of the contest.
The two faced off in the headlining bout of the event that took place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Evans controlled the duration of rounds one and two, getting back to his wrestling roots and taking Silva down at will. It was midway through the third round that Silva manged to clip Evans with a big right hand to the chin that had the Greg Jackson trained fighter doing the chicken dance. Unfortunately for Thiago, the American Top Team trained knockout artist couldn’t seem to seal the deal due to what appeared to be a shortage of wind that was likely due to Evans’ tenacious takedowns, and takedown attempts throughout the bout.
When it was all said and done it was “Sugar” Rashad who was awarded with the unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 on all three scorecards.
Evans made his intentions to face off with fellow TUF 10 coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson now that the former UFC champ has come out of his brief retirement stint. While no date for the match-up between the two has been set at this time, a showdown between the prime time rivals seems to be an inevitability.
Cory Brady is the managing editor of FiveOuncesOfPain.com, along with being a regular feature writer with Ultimate MMA Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/corybrady
| All posts by Cory Brady
I was rooting for Rashad to win this one, but I have to admit that during the third round I kind of wanted Thiago to land a huge shot, just because I thought how he left his jaw out there for what seemed like forever was totally awesome. I thought the fight was ok, not great, but I’ve seen worse.
The rest of the night however delivered tremendously.
I don’t know any numbers but I think this might have been the shortest UFC in history. It seemed like nothing went past the first round.
Well-Done.
15 
1
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Weak-Sauce.
6 
24
I think that’s a little harsh. The main event didn’t deliver that much but did you see Stout/Lauzon? That fight alone could make a night, and Sam showed some of the most beautiful boxing ever in the octagon. He never threw the same combo twice, and switched levels and directions masterfully. Jim Miller once again proved how he’s the best fighter no one knows about with his demolition of Duane Ludwig, and I believe Cole Miller just did the first and probably only inverted triangle in the UFC.
The rest of the night I thought delivered better than Dana could have hoped, especially considering the 10 fights that were supposed to happen but didn’t.
Well-Done.
18 
2
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Weak-Sauce.
7 
23
Rashad was smart to lock the fight up with takedowns in the early rounds. After that all he had to do was avoid the KO.
I was happy that Silva got a least one good shot on him before the fight was over though.
Can’t wait to see Jackson get his KO from Rashad.
Good fight.
Hot debate. What do you think?
13 
9
Like hell you are. You’re bashing what was just an amazing card. About as lame as one can be.
Amazing card tonight!
Well-Done.
20 
4
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Weak-Sauce.
6 
18
Another point worth bringing up is UFC has 12-15 UFC’s a year whereas Strikeforce has half that. If Strikeforce were to do a big card every month they would have to space out their big blockbuster fighters which they don’t have a problem with yet. Yeah, they can put all their stars on one card because they won’t have to do another for a few months but the UFC never has more than 4 weeks to the next event and they need to put their big fighters on each one. If they stack some cards too much then nothing is left for the next card. Overall, it’s no question that the UFC has the better fighters with bigger names, and I think tonight helped them more than hurt them.
Totally sober
Well-Done.
19 
0
It was a great card , Daley impressed again, Stout was truly on fire tonight but you have to wonder if Lauzon and Hazlett were wise to take such challenges in thier first fights back from knee surgury. Dos Santos really surprised me. Ellenburger was great getting his first official(I still think he should have won the fight against Condit). I dont know how many more times I can listen to Rogan tell everybody that Rashad can drop to 185, the dude just wins at 205 let it be joe. And this was by far not one of the worst main event fights, it was touch and go throughtout, what a good night, I am glad to have out out the $55 dollars.
Oh and how about Miller knocking down Ludwig and getting that awesome submission(sotn).
Well-Done.
12 
0
Personally, thought the main event delivered in a big way. Well matched opponents, who exploited all the elements that make up MMA. Thiago did some great striking, almost ending the fight in the 3rd, and Rashad implemented a fantastic game plan to overwhelm a game but underprepared competitor, who lacked the technical skills to deal with Evan’s wrestlng attack. Did anyone else see shades of the GSP strategy in Rashad’s takedowns? Greg Jackson is a master tactician, who brings his fighters to the cage with all the tools they need to win.
Umimpressed with Yvel, and look for bigger things from dos Santos. Daley did a great job, and Stout gained some new fans tonight. Mark Munoz is growing in this sport, and Miller’s submission was a thing of beauty. No complaints from this long time fan…
Afterthought: it takes major heart to take a shot like Evans did in the 3rd and continue. For me, the ugliest thing about this sport is the ignorant fans who booed a warrior in victory. One man’s opinion…
Well-Done.
16 
1
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Weak-Sauce.
4 
16
Except GSP capitalizes on his takedowns. To compare what Rashad did tonight to GSP does a disservice to Rush, IMO.
Hot debate. What do you think?
16 
7
That’s where I differ. I’m not being overly sensitive, and I love Strikeforce as well as Dream, Bellator, Sengoku, WEC, and all of them but I thought tonight delivered as well as it could. I don’t think there was anyone so disappointed with the fights that they now support Strikeforce above all else.
I could practically feel the rumble of the crowd through my speakers when Lauzon/Stout were fighting. That was such a great fight and I think everyone watching respected the UFC for it. It didn’t matter if they weren’t the big names to me, it was still a great fight, and I’m sure thousands more people out there now know who Sam Stout is and can’t wait to see him fight again.
Well-Done.
12 
0
I’m not exactly sure what your issue with the co-main event was? If it was the matchmaking I guess I can understand.. If it was before the fight happened.
A roll to start the fight, a quick devastating knockout by a potential star to end it.
To answer your question, yes I believe Dana enjoyed the co-main event, although I agree that the main event was boring.
Agree or Disagree:
6 
3
Mr. Starbone, I’m not a UFC fan, I’m an MMA fan. Enjoyed a good night of fights tonight, as I will when Strikeforce puts on their next event, whenever and wherever that may be. Just wondering what they’re going to do after Henderson fights Fedor or Mousasi…
What I enjoy about the forums is debate and informed opinion. I disagree with you, but appreciate the discourse. I think Rashad may have fallen short of a dominant performance like we saw in the GSP/Penn fight, but using the takedown to take control of the action looked pretty reminiscent to me of the strategy Jackson suggested for St. Pierre, and it worked pretty well for Rashad tonight. Thanks for the feedback.
Well-Done.
15 
0
As I mentioned before, I loved that fight. But if you heard the Stout cheers you certainly heard the Rashad boos. Which fight is more important to the bottom line of the UFC?
Good overall card. Unfortunately for Dana and company, the money fights didn’t deliver.
I’m not anti-UFC; I just don’t get how some of you are bending over backwards to defend a crappy backend of a UFC event. UFC 106 was the first time I’ve been in Vegas and didn’t bother going to the event. I’ll be back SB weekend and plan to go, but I hope it gets better from here.
Agree or Disagree:
3 
5
Appreciate your opinion as well. Don’t mean to come across disrespectful at all; just a bit perplexed by some of the reactions from posters. Not sure what about tonight’s co-main/main event could’ve left anyone coming away feeling impressed/satisfied. With MMA constantly growing and getting more & more great events, perhaps my expectations are a bit high.
Back to Rashad…I agree he employed a smart strategy to sneak out with a win. We all knew Silva was dangerous and obviously the 3rd round shot showed how vulnerable Rashad was. But he got out of there with a W. He just didn’t do the UFC any favors. And like it or not, if guys want to find themselves showcasing UFC cards that’s a huge factor. And I’ve never come away feeling the same after a GSP fight.
Agree or Disagree:
2 
5
I have to say Rashad is one of the more overrated fighters in the UFC, I just hope coming up short in 2 straight fights doesn’t push a talent like Silva out of the UFC…its been known to happen
Agree or Disagree:
6 
3
I’m not trying to crap all over you, and I will agree to disagree, but I guess where I differ is I consider every single fight with the potential to be the best fight ever. I felt totally satisfied at the end of the night even though the main event didn’t exactly deliver because the rest of the night delivered so well. I could care less what kind of name you have, and I don’t let that get into what I think of the fight. The main event didn’t earn a million fans, but the rest of the night had me feeling very good. For the casual fan they probably care just about the main event but I want to see the first fight of the night just as bad as I want to see the main event. And with tonight it was for good reason, since the earlier fights went above and beyond.
I’m going to be looking forward to Stout’s and Jim Miller’s next fight just as much as I want to see who Thiago Silva and Rashad fight again next.
Agree or Disagree:
4 
0
He has only come up sort in 1 straight fight, although 2 overall. He KO’d Jardine don’t forget.
To be honest though, he probably made more fans than Rashad just because you could see how bad he wanted it to be an exciting fight. He was leaving his chin out with his hands behind his back! I’m sure the crowd respects his heart and desire. That’s why even though I called Rashad to win I was kind of hoping to see Thiago land that one big shot because you could see how bad he wanted the fight to be good.
Agree or Disagree:
5 
1
I’ve always enjoyed watching Stout. Dude has always known what he’s doing in the cag, with technical striking and amazing conditioning/cardio. He’s pretty much impossible to finish, but he just doesn’t have the power to finish anyone either. He is what he is — another very good fighter in the UFC who will always be a tough test of the guys moving their way up. The proverbial gatekeeper.
Jim Miller looks like another one of those. He’s a scrapper. His stand-up looked good tonight. But he’s basically another Clay Guida, with slightly better striking. Don’t get me wrong, I like ‘em both.
I enjoy watching all these guys fight. Obviously not every fighter can be a GSP or BJ Penn. I just came away feeling like tonight’s card was more UFNish than PPVish.
Agree or Disagree:
1 
4
Rampage will own Evans. Not for nothing I know its a great camp and all but its so boring with this Jackson game plan of going for take down after take down and pushing up against the cage. I know all the blood fows to the arms and makes then tired but holy shit go for a sub some ground and pound something.
Agree or Disagree:
6 
3
i think to compare rashad take downs to gsp’s is ridiculous. allrashad did was show even thouh he can take someone down they just stand right back up its definately a way to avoid fighting . sure its mma but if you take down someone do something with it. if all you are doing is avoiding the fight then you shouldn’t be in there in the first place rashad performance left a bad taste in my mouth as it did as evidenced by all the boos for rashad. at least silva wanted to fight and tried to keep the fight happening
Agree or Disagree:
2 
1
I’m personally glad I didn’t buy this card.
I woke up this morning and watched all the fights online…in about 30 minutes.
Not only did I save myself a whole heap of cash…but I saved myself time too. I cringed at the thought of all the garbage that filled the rest of the 3 hour massively mismatched ppv.
Yay for me.
Agree or Disagree:
3 
11
And this coming from the guy who says he loves all mma. you’ll promote and hype lopsided fights in other organizations, but will rip on an awesome night of UFC fights.
What kind of fan calls a great night of fights garbage?
Somebody just looking for attention.
Agree or Disagree:
6 
3
He might love mma, but man does he hate Dana
Agree or Disagree:
4 
0
Other organizations don’t charge a hefty pay per vier premium. That is the difference.
…and besides, I never said I didn’t enjoy the fights. I’m just glad I didn’t shell out $60 to see them.
Agree or Disagree:
3 
4
This very true.
Agree or Disagree:
4 
2
I have to admit they did end up having their timing completely off, which isn’t exactly all their fault since almost every fight ended in the first. The UFC Prelims on Spike ended up just ending 15 minutes early, and because the main card was just as fast they ended up showing all the prelims that most people just watched again during the main card fights.
Agree or Disagree:
2 
0
personally i thought this event was one of the most entertaining in recent memory, i thoroughly enjoyed top to bottom, luckily Rashad took a beating in the 3rd which saved it from being pretty dull.
Rashad’s game plan was perfect in 1 & 2, and that sort of fightnig will eventually get him another title shot, so i can’t blame him. Shame Thiago didnt start fighting 10 minutes earlier. I gotta say though i’m pretty sick of hearing about Thiagos amazing BJJ, i have yet to see any of it. other than getting mount in a few fights i’m yet to see it.
Miller/Lauzon and Stout/Lauzon were great fights. Kampmann Miller and Miller had great subs (fuck me was that an arm bar by Jim Miller? i was starting to think the UFC frowned upon that sort of thing), Junior, Thiago and Daley providing the strikes
lots of young up and coming fighters going balls out to further their career. i would rather watch events with these fighters than with the big name, highly paid fellas who often have too much to lose to put on a decent fight and are seemingly afraid to go for the finish in case they get caught.
This event i think will still be at the very top of my favourite events list come the end of the year, and it will take a lot to top Coles submission this year
Agree or Disagree:
2 
0