Rashad Evans is set to take on Thiago Silva at UFC 108.
Sources close to MMA Junkie have reported that Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva have agreed to fight at UFC 108, which is slated to be on Jan. 2 inside of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Evans (13-1-1) was supposed to take on Rampage Jackson at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tenn., but Jackson’s abrupt “retirement” and decision to film the A-Team movie put that fight on hold. He told AOL Fan House that he wanted to fight Thiago Silva (14-1) after Silva defeated Evans’ teammate and good friend Keith Jardine at UFC 102.
Both men were previously undefeated before taking on light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who KO’d both of them.
The fight will be the co-main event to the UFC middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.
They say styles make fights and this is a FIGHT!!! It’s gonna be a “Who get’s off first” situation when this fight goes down. The bigger question may be…where does the winner go from here???
ive got thiago silva winning this fight.cant wait till luis artur cane starts getting some recognition.that cat is a very skilled fighter and can give machida a fight.
Definitely think this should be a good match. Not an easy re-entry to the lightheavyweight picture for Rashad, and could be a very challenging fight for Silva.
Thiago already had his follow-up effort after a brutal knockout loss, and handled himself well in taking out Keith Jardine. Actually wish that one had gone longer and given Silva more of a test, but such is MMA.
My sense is that Evans might have the slick standup skills to frustrate Silva. Rashad has excellent lateral motion, good head movement, and the ability to make most fighters miss. Of course, he wasn’t able to elude Machida, and if Thiago can track Evans down and land the sweet head shot, we may see another knockout. I wonder though about Thiago’s tendency to rush his opponent trying to land the bomb, knowing that Rashad absolutely has the fire power to take Silva out if he makes a glaring error.
What might be really interesting is if this one were to go to the ground, as Rashad has always been a strong wrestler, and Silva has that Chute Box Brazilian heritage, and the BJJ black belt to go along with that training base.
Daley, after reading your post I read up on Cane, and while I don’t think I’ve seen him fight, he does have a strong record and seems to be a fighter on the rise. We’ll see how he does against Little Nog, and where that fight will lead Cane in the UFC.
i think a win over nog will leave him fighting a top 5 lhw.a tito,shogun,machida,evans,t.silva.
Mu Shin, as usual you make some great points. Evans may very well make the striking battle very interesting. This match-up could quite really be a crazy one, both of these guys can put on entertaining fights. As much as I like Thiago, I would have to think Rashad is the favorite here. I think he can probably hang with Silva, but there is also another big factor here. Thiago Silva likes to get takedowns. He likes to throw some GnP and stop guys like that. In no way do I see an easy takedown for him here, if any at all. If he can’t beat Rashad standing up, I think he’ll be in trouble. I’ve notinced that Rashad sometimes comes n with his hands down a bit, so we’ll see how that guys, but if it goes to the ground, I don’t see Silva on top. I don’t really know too much about Silva’s guard-game, or about Rshad as a guard-passer, but we know Rashad can put guys away on the ground, which is bad news for Thiago.
As for Cane, he’s nasty, and I’m not saying he can beat Lil Nog, but he will definately make a fight out of it. Should he win, he’s definately a top dude. Daley, are you saying Ortiz is a top LHW right now?
Awwwwww shiiiiiiiitttt,this is gonna be a scrap,if Evans tries and stands with him he’s in bother and if he tries wrestling him he’ll get him to the ground and get submitted himself LOL! Its a win win for me because I can’t stand the little prick!!!!!