Former light heavyweight champions Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans will have their long awaited grudge match Saturday night at UFC 114 in Las Vegas.
Here's a breakdown of the UFC 114 main card:
Rashad Evans (14-1-1) vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (30-7)
The stakes are high for both men.
Based at Greg Jackson's academy in New Mexico, Evans benefits from some of the premier training partners in the industry, including Shane Carwin, Keith Jardine, Nate Marquardt, Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
In addition to his world-renowned wrestling game, Evans has developed into one of the division's most vicious strikers. Evans was also awarded his black belt in no-gi BJJ from Rolles Gracie prior to his win over Thiago Silva in January.
Evans has proven that he has legitimate one-punch power. His sensational knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 in September 2008 was the turning point of his career, which later led to a victory over Forrest Griffin to claim the UFC light heavyweight title.
Fresh off a win over Silva, the 30-year-old Evans will need to utilize head movement and leg kicks to wear down Jackson.
Jackson, a world-class wrestler in his own right, has fought and beaten some of the best fighters on the planet, including Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Murilo Rua and Ricardo Arona.
"Rampage" has won eight of nine fights since losing to the current champ Rua at Pride Total Elimination 2005 with his lone setback being a contentious decision loss to Forrest Griffin in July 2008.
A gifted heavy-handed boxer with the sport's most distinguishable slams, Jackson's Achilles' heel is not dedicating himself to long hours in the gym. When Jackson is motivated, there are few fighters who can hang with the man who unified the UFC and Pride 205-pound titles. Hell-bent on revenge for all the trash talk, Rampage insists the work has been done inside England's Wolfslair Academy where he prepared alongside UFC notables Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo.
But Jackson has also embraced the movie star lifestyle as he will be playing B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A-Team movie. Ring rust and conditioning will be major factors as Jackson has not seen action since defeating Evans' training partner Jardine in March 2009. If this fight goes past the second round, Evans' cardio could be the difference maker.
Jackson will undoubtedly possess the power advantage and Evans could pay the price if he shoots in with half-hearted takedown attempts. But Evans can also pick Jackson apart with leg kicks, a technique his teammate Jardine and Griffin both employed effectively against Jackson.
If Evans slugs it out or gets sloppy in close quarters, he will be playing right into Jackson's hands.
Michael Bisping (18-3) vs. Dan Miller (11-3)
In the co-feature, Bisping looks to rebound from a loss to Wanderlei Silva in February.
Bisping, "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner has compiled an impressive list of victories during his UFC campaign, defeating the likes of Eric Schafer, Matt Hamill, Chris Leben and Denis Kang.
Meanwhile, Miller is a BJJ black belt under Jamie Cruz with a base in wrestling.
The AMA Fight Club product could receive his walking papers if he fails to impress the UFC brass as he is coming off back-to-back losses against Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia, respectively.
Prior to the successive setbacks, Miller was on a three-fight winning streak in the UFC. The submission stylist tapped out both Rob Kimmons and Jake Rosholt in the first round.
Armed with a sharper stand-up game, Bisping should be able to pick Miller apart with his boxing, much like Maia did in their February meeting. However, if this fight goes to the ground, it will play more to Miller's strengths.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) vs. Jason Brilz (18-2-1)
Initially slated to face former UFC champion Forrest Griffin, Nogueira will take a step down in competition against Brilz.
The 33-year-old BJJ black belt Nogueira trains at Team Black House with his brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva.
The former Pride standout has defeated Guy Mezger, Kazushi Sakuraba, Alistair Overeem and Dan Henderson in Japan.
With another win, he will inch closer to a potential title shot against Shogun Rua in a rematch of their classic 2005 Pride encounter, which Shogun won by unanimous decision.
Brilz, a three-time Academic All-American wrestler at Nebraska, trains at Elite Performance MMA under Jeremy Horn.
Nicknamed "The Hitman," Brilz has beaten a handful of UFC veterans, including Jason MacDonald, Alex Schoenauer, Tim Boetsch and Eric Schafer.
Nogueira is a superior striker with lethal hands, in addition to possessing one of the best ground games in the division. Even if Brilz manages to take him down, he could wind up in a dangerous predicament against the slick submission player.
Todd Duffee (6-0) vs. Mike Russow (12-1)
The 24-year-old Xtreme Couture product Duffee is among the most hyped heavyweight prospects in MMA.
Unbeaten with six knockouts, Duffee made an emphatic statement in his UFC debut. Last August, Duffee knocked out Canadian Tim Hague in seven seconds to record the fastest knockout in UFC history.
It remains to be seen how the physically imposing heavyweight responds to pressure against a more experienced adversary.
Russow, a 33-year-old veteran, has only one blemish on his record -- a submission loss to Sergei Kharitonov at Pride 33 in 2007. His notable wins include Jason Guida, Roman Zentsov and Justin McCully.
Riding an eight-fight winning streak, Russow has been training with Andrei Arlovski and Brock Lesnar to prepare for Duffee's size and raw power. A well-rounded heavyweight, Russow may aim to secure a takedown to cope with Duffee's explosiveness.
Despite Russow's experience, Duffee will be favored to score yet another knockout.
Diego Sanchez (21-3) vs. John Hathaway (12-0)
After a complete destruction at the hands of B.J. Penn last December, Sanchez will be returning to 170 pounds against a solid undefeated prospect.
Following a solid run at 155 pounds, which included wins over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida, Sanchez is returning to the division where he attained his greatest success in the UFC. A BJJ brown belt under Saulo Ribeiro, Sanchez has expressed interest in competing in both divisions.
To some observers, Hathaway may appear to be a mere stepping stone for Sanchez in his welterweight comeback fight, but the unbeaten Brit could also embrace this opportunity to shock the world.
Anchored at ZT Fight Skool and London Shootfighters in the U.K., Hathaway has exhibited solid striking and wrestling in his three UFC victories over Thomas Egan, Rick Story and Paul Taylor.
Sanchez is far more dangerous on his feet and he will wear the 22-year-old down with an abundance of strikes if the Brit is unable to put him on his back. However, Hathaway's aggression and survival skills may be enough to take this fight the distance.
Source: Fox Sports
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