Will “Sugar” Rashad turn sour?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Boxing is taking a breather after a hectic last couple of weeks. But UFC is back with UFC 98, which is shaping up to be not that bad.
The headliner will be “Sugar” Rashad Evans making his first title defense against Lyoto Machida but from a pure interest standpoint, kinda excited about the Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes battle.
Serra exploded onto the scene with a win over Georges St. Pierre. That was over two years ago and GSP came back to beat Serra.
In fact, take away those two GSP bouts and Serra hasn’t fought anyone since 2006.
Does Hughes have one last performance in him? He’s been saying this will be the end of his legendary career.
Hughes made his UFC debut at UFC 22…in 1999. Guess you could say he’s been here a time or two.
It’s been depicted as a huge grudge match, and it may turn out that way. I don’t see it like that. It’ll be an entertaining fight but not in the way fight fans are anticipating.
I’ma give it to the “old guy” one final time. Don’t think Serra is well-rounded enough to give Hughes a real challenge.
In the main event, the biggest question (to me) is will the next big UFC star once again lose?
I don’t think for one minute that the UFC was banking on Evans to become what he has become.
But considering what he’s done in the last year (KO wins over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin), he’s become an unlikely star.
This will be his toughest bout yet. Evans (from what I’ve seen) has been a slow starter and then comes on strong and finishes with the best of ‘em. But will Machida give him a chance?
Though if you’re talking unlikely stars, Machida certainly fits that to a T as well. His jiu-jitsu game is one of the best.
But what makes him stand out is his ability to be so dang elusive that it frustrates his opponents (and viewers at times).
Know Machida will have the stamina. Neither fighter has ever lost a professional fight. So what might be more interesting is to see how the loser bounces back in his next fight?
As for my prediction, I drink the Sugar Kool-Aid, so saying Evans by a TKO in the third or fourth round.
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I was shocked when i saw the Evans vs Machida fight. That knock out from Machida was priceless.