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UFC 92: The Ultimate Wagering, Betting Lines and UFC Sports Betting
UFC 92: The Ultimate
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Forrest Griffin (-145) vs. "Sugar" Rashad Evans (+115)by
Stan Leung |
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UFC 92 The Ultimate UFC Light Heavyweight title fight: Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans For a sports bettor, the main event fight at UFC 92 will be one of the hardest to handicap as Forrest Griffin (16-4) will defend his 205 pound UFC light heavyweight title versus Rashad Sugar Evans (12-0-1). To me this fight is a toss up as both fighters have improved so much since leaving the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Mixed martial arts is not a slug fest fight and all out brawl like most people think. It is a very controlled and strategic sport. To be a great fighter it takes discipline, planning and execution. For that reason Rashad Evan will be the new UFC 205 pound Light Heavyweight champion. Rashad started his mixed martial arts career in 2004, under UFC veteran wrestler and UFC hall of famer Dan Severn. Evans competed in five professional mixed martial arts fights, winning all five. This led to his selection as one of the nine heavyweights to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 2, a reality TV series on Spike TV where he won season 2 as a heavyweight. Wrestling wise, Rashad is the much better fighter between the two. Should he take Forrest down to the ground he will be able to ground and pound him out, just like his teammate and sparring partner Keith Jardine did at UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz. Forrest has not fought very many top level wrestlers and he will have problems if Evans gets him to the ground in this fight. One type of fighter that Forrest has never fought before is a high caliber NCAA wrestler. Evans has the wrestling ability to take down Forrest and hold him down. If Evans gets Griffin on the ground he will be able to score take down points as well as land effect ground and pound. Striking wise, the slight advantage goes to Forest but not as much as people may think. Evans has a very controlled style of striking and attacks when he feels he can, while Griffin is very wild with his strikes and likes to take chances. He will push the pace and attack more with his strikes but he will be left open when he throws wild punches. Griffin is the better striker in this fight but his wild ways mighty get the better of him in this fight. I see Griffin trying to close the distance with jabs which will leave him vulnerable for shoot in attempts by Evans. Rashad will hold his time to strike until the perfect moment and will land the punch that will send Forrest down just he did with Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 – Breakthrough. Kicking wise, Griffin has the much better advantage as his long limbs will be able to land points but Evans will be smart enough to keep his distance. Grappling wise, Forrest is the better grappler of his back, as he tends to use his long limbs to pull his opponent downs of attempt arm bar or triangle chokes. He has very underestimated grappling skills but so does Evans. This fight will not be won by submission though, as Evans is too good of a top fighter to be caught with a submission. Griffin is a good grappler but not a great grappler. If Evans gets top control on the ground he has the skills to hold Griffin down. If Forrest gains top control on the ground, Evans has the explosiveness and power to get back to his feet. On paper Griffin looks like he will win this fight but coming into this fight Rashad Evans will have the better game plan. Having a better game plan is the one intangible that will sway this fight. First Evans fights for the best MMA camp right now at Jackson Submission Fighting and is well coached by Greg Jackson and his MMA team. If you look at Evans past fights he listens to his corner and Greg Jackson has him well prepared each and every fight. Evans fight with Chuck Liddell was a masterful game plan. He listened to Greg Jackson’s orders and frustrated Liddell and attacked when it was only necessary. Evans is a much more disciplined fighter and has gained so much as a MMA fighter while Griffin is not disciplined and likes to fight and be aggressive without thinking about the consequences. If you recall when Evans was on the Ultimate Fighter show he entered as a heavyweight and despite being under sized he still won the 6 figure contract. Forrest has never fought the style of fighter that Rashad is, and this will pose problems for him in this fight. Evans is a very powerful and stronger fighter that engages when he is ready. That is a total opposite of how Forrest fights. He is a fighter that likes to push the pace and in most case his fights more from the heart and not from the head. This will be his downfall in this fight. Forrest has a lot of pride and will want to put on a good show in front of the fans since this will be his first title defense. Bottom Line: Evans is not the best fighter coming into this fight but he is the most disciplined and well coached fighter. He is a more calculating fighter and will wait for his chances and wait for Forrest to make a mistake. He is not a fighter that does things overly well but he pulls out victories. Forrest on the other hand, has is not very disciplined and is not well coached, He likes to fight wildly and will try to put on a good show. In most of Griffins fights if he can win the stand up he will shoot in to score points. He will not be able to do that will Rashad. Evans Will Come Into This Fight With a Game Plan and Will Get a Third Round TKO Victory to Become the New UFC ChampBet on the UFC at Bookmaker.com - Where The UFC Line Originates |
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