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Does Rampage Deserve a Rematch?

The main event of UFC 114 revealed what many fans of UFC betting had anticipated: Rampage had spent too much time away from action.

The ring-rust appeared evident early on. Rampage seemed hesitant to engage, and while one cannot discount the speed advantage of Rashad Evans, Rampage clearly appeared gun shy at times.

Perhaps more instructive, is the fact that when Rampage did land a big shot and come very close to finishing Rashad - indeed, the closest this fight ever was to being finished - he could not go in for the kill. When he swarmed Rashad after landing the initial shot from a scramble, he threw bombs - unfortunately none of them landed.

Moreover, once Rashad was able to get back to his feet, he was still clearly dazed. Unfortunately for Rampage, he was too gassed to capitalize. This brings up a serious distinction in terms of being in shape versus being in fighting shape. While Mike Dolce is clearly a talented nutritionist, his Dolce Diet is perhaps better suited for an individual looking to drop a lot of weight rapidly. Serious questions exist with regard to whether the diet that Rampage followed in his training camp is adequate to sustain a professional fighter. While Rampage looked lean at the weigh-ins, he also looked small.

None of this can take away from the fact that Rashad exhibited a phenomenal performance and deserves all credit for this win. The fact remains however, that Rampage did not appear to be in top condition, and fans are curious to what a rematch would look like from a focused Rampage.

Whether or not this will happen is largely down to where Rampage's priorities lie. If he is refocused and dedicated to fighting, a rematch seems inevitable down the line. If he is done with fighting and focused on film, fans will be left wondering what could've been.

   

UFC 114 Preview

On Saturday, May 29th, Quinton Jackson will finally meet Rashad Evans at UFC 114.

 

In a bout that has been hyped as much as any in recent UFC history, the two men were originally supposed to meet following their stint as coaches on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. The two men traded insults and nearly came to blows on a weekly basis over the course of the show.

Now, with Jackson's film commitments fulfilled, the two men will finally meet.

This bout will come down to two things: Rashad's wrestling and Jackson's boxing. The other x-factor in the fight is the cardio of both men. Evans has shown a real deficit in that area of his game, gassing out in his fights after being tested. Jackson, for his part, has shown that he can go five rounds in a brutal war, as he did in his title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 75. In the closing moments of the fifth round, Jackson appeared close to finishing Henderson, a testament to his abilities when he comes to a fight in shape.

Look for Rashad to get inside and try to work from the clinch with Quinton. He'll look to knee and punch from the inside, and eventually work for the takedown. Jackson, for his part, will look to keep some distance and work his boxing against the younger Evans.

For fans of UFC betting, this card hosts a number of good fights, despite some changes due to injury. Forrest Griffin, originally scheduled for the co-main event against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira had to pull out of the fight after he re-injured his shoulder. Jason Brilz has stepped up to replace Griffin on short notice. Because of the lack of names now in that fight, the fight between Michael Bisping and Dan Miller has been moved into the co-main event slot.

UFC 114 goes down Saturday, May 29th, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

   

UFC 116 Card Solidified This Week

Following an official announcement from the UFC confirming that Brock Lesnar was fit and would be able to compete at UFC: 116 against Shane Carwin in a heavyweight title betting unification contest, UFC President Dana White has confirmed several more fights that will fill out the July 3rd sports betting promotion at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In addition to the UFC online betting middleweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama serving as the official co-headling main event, the UFC confirmed six more fights. The Ultimate Fighter reality series, season one runner up Stephan Bonnar will take on Krzysztof Soszynski in a rematch of their UFC: 110 fight in February. A deep gash on Bonnar's head forced the judge's to stop the fight and award it to Soszynski, and both fighters felt a rematch was the best way to determine the winner once and for all. Other fights include Chris Tuchscherer and Brendan Schaub fighting out of the heavyweight division, a middleweight tilt between Goran Reijic and Kendall Grove, welterweights Matt Brown and Chris Lytle, and Jon Madsen taking on Karlos Vemola in the latter's UFC debut.

There had been rumors about Silva and Akiyama meeting in this event, and now it is confirmed that the former Pride Championship fighting star will take on the Korean buzz saw. The move is smart for the UFC from a promotional standpoint because it embraces fans from Pride who followed Silva, as well as the major market overseas, particularly in Japan who have watched Akiyama's rise in the sport.

   

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