Rashad Evans is the Ultimate Fighting Championship's light-heavyweight champion -- and that alone is an impressive accomplishment. The division is the UFC's deepest in talent, counting "Rampage" Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Forrest Griffin, among others.
Evans, 29, is unbeaten, a former winner of the UFC's reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter," and he claims a stirring knockout of Liddell and TKO beat-down of the tough Griffin in December to take the belt.
"I don't remember being hurt," Griffin said memorably afterward. "I remember waking up."
Tonight in Las Vegas, Evans (18-0-1) defends his belt for the first time. He will fight Lyoto Machida, 30, another unbeaten fighter. Machida (14-0) answered UFC President Dana White's request for a more exciting fighting style by ending Tito Ortiz's UFC career and knocking out Thiago Silva in the first round of a January fight.
"I'm in shape, I'm ready to go," Evans said this week after wrapping up a workout in preparation for the main event of UFC 98 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. "My keys to victory are similar to what they are in every one of my fights: good movement, stay aggressive -- my striking and takedowns are advantages. I'm not concerned about anything."
Even after watching Machida's last fight? When the sturdy, karate-disciplined Brazilian waited patiently for an opening and pounded Silva?
"It's impressive . . . his mesmerizing movements get you sucked up into thinking you're safe and the next thing you know, you can be thinking, 'Why is the ref counting me out?' " Evans said. "But he's never fought anyone like me."
Evans' striking skills rank near the top of the UFC -- ask Liddell.
Many mixed martial arts followers, however, question how long those skills will take to be showcased in a bout in which both fighters have been classified as counterattackers. The UFC is coming off a highly criticized main event at UFC 97, when middleweight champion Anderson Silva retained his title by a decision over Thales Leites, and one of Evans' coaches has told him that if the MGM crowd is booing inaction that's a good sign.
"He did say that, but with the respect of not just rushing in there to make something happen," Evans said. "Fighting is for entertainment, but you don't want to do something stupid and get your block knocked off. I think it'll be an exciting fight, because [Machida] wants to look impressive and we both have skill levels we want to put on display."
