
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.

