Evans’ career in ascent
At Tuesday’s final news conference for tonight’s Ultimate Fighting Championship card at the MGM Grand Garden, virtually all of the combatants on the dais were dressed as if they were coming from or heading to a workout.
T-shirts and sweatshirts were the garb of choice. But Rashad Evans didn’t go along with the crowd. He was nattily attired in a suit and tie, looking like someone attending a business meeting.
Evans figures to be all business tonight. He is considered a rising star in the UFC, and there’s no telling how big he’ll become in mixed martial arts if he beats Forrest Griffin to take his light heavyweight title in the main event of the year-end 10-bout card.
"This is a great opportunity for me, no question," Evans said. "Forrest is a great fighter, and he’s tough and has a lot of heart. But I think he’s going to have problems with me. Styles make fights, and we’ll see if he can handle my style."
Evans, 29, is a former wrestling star at Michigan State. He is 17-0-1 in the UFC and was the winner of Season 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter." He also has a knockout victory over UFC star Chuck Liddell.
Griffin’s career path is similar to Evans’. He won the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" and also has beaten a UFC marquee fighter, with a July win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who is on tonight’s card in a light heavyweight bout against Wanderlei Silva.
Now the paths of Evans and Griffin cross, and someone will be taking a backward step when the main event is over.
"It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come, but I’m going to try and treat this like every other fight," Evans said. "And like I’ve shown time, and again in my fights, opportunity is all I need."
In a sport with few black competitors, Evans might be able to attract more black fans to the mixed martial arts if he beats Griffin. Evans and Jackson, are the two best-known black competitors in the organization.
"To be honest, I really don’t know what they could do besides just go after that demographic (black fans) by going in areas the demographic would be into," Evans said during a recent UFC teleconference. "Get more into the hip-hop world or things like that."
Evans conceded he’s not well-known as a world-class athlete among his race.
"I stayed in Brooklyn (N.Y.) for about two weeks, and I could count everybody on one hand that recognized I was a fighter," he said. "Not that I look for that, but usually if I was somewhere where there were a lot more white people it would have been a lot more people who recognized me."
Evans had no trouble being recognized Friday at the weigh-in inside the MGM’s Conference Center. He received a warm ovation from the crowd of approximately 3,500 after weighing in at 203 pounds. Griffin weighed 205.
Evans, who has never won by submission, is the smaller man in this matchup. He also is a slight underdog (plus-105) among bettors, with Griffin at minus-125. But he also knows a win over Griffin can take him to new heights.
"I think he and I are going to be like Ali and Frazier," Evans said. "This will be the first time we meet, but it won’t be the last, so I want to set the precedent."
• NOTES — There was a flare-up at the weigh-in when Silva took a poke at Jackson during their pose-off for photographers. It was quickly broken up before it could escalate. Silva, a minus-135 favorite, weighed 203 pounds, and Jackson (plus-115) weighed 206. … In the weigh-in for the UFC interim heavyweight championship, titleholder Antonio Nogueira (minus-400) weighed 246, and challenger Frank Mir (plus-310) was 251.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.
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