UFC 145 Preview and Results: Jones vs. Evans

image_pdfimage_print

UFC 145 Results

UFC 145 MAIN CARD
205#: Jon Jones (15-1) vs. Rashad Evans (22-1) wins by Unanimous Decision!
170#: Rory MacDonald (12-1) vs. Che Mills (14-4 1NC) wins by TKO in RD2!
265#: Brendan Schaub (9-2) vs. Ben Rothwell (31-8) wins by KO in RD1!
145#: Mark Hominick (20-1) vs. Eddie Yagin (15-5-1) wins by Split Decision!
155#: John Alessio (34-15) vs. Mark Bocek (10-4) wins by Unanimous Decision!

PRELIMINARY BOUTS
135#: Miguel Torres (39-4) vs. Michael McDonald (14-1) wins by TKO in RD1!
265#: Travis Browne (12-0-1) vs. Chad Griggs (11-1) wins by Arm Triangle Choke in RD1!
170#: Stephen Thompson (6-0) vs. Matt Brown (15-11) wins by Unanimous Decision!
155#: Anthony Njokuani (15-6) vs. John Makdessi (9-1) wins by Unanimous Decision!
155#: Mac Danzig (21-9-1) vs. Efrain Escudero (19-4) wins by Unanimous Decision!
170#: Keith Wisniewski (28-12-1) vs. Chris Clements (10-4) wins by Split Decision!
145#: Maximo Blanco (8-4) vs. Marcus Brimage (5-1) wins by Split Decision!

by Joe Silvia

Ultimate Fighting Championship 145 takes place Saturday April 21st, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The first three preliminary bouts will be broadcast free on the UFC Facebook page. The remainder of the preliminary bouts will then be broadcast on FX at 8 PM EST, before going live to Pay-Per-View starting at 10 PM EST. In addition, the weigh-ins will take place on Friday, April 20th, and broadcast live on FUEL TV at 7 PM EST.

Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans: UFC LHW Championship Bout
Jon Jones who opened up as a betting favorite (-475/+375) over Rashad Evans is looking to continue is Light Heavyweight reign and do so in spectacular fashion over his old training partner and friend. Some bad blood has boiled up between the two and things are already heated a month out from the event. Greg Jackson who has coached both fighters has stated he will corner Jones in this fight, further fueling the fire between the two.

Jones became the youngest UFC champion in the event’s history with a win over Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 at 23-years old. He has a staggering 87% finish rate, and has finished his last 7 fights. His physical frame (6’4″ 205lbs) combined UFC 145 Weigh in with his athleticism, natural talent, and wrestling background have turned him into one of the best fighters the sport has ever seen. So far he has proven to be  a special fighter that is so much better than anyone he has competed against thus far. He has yet to be threatened (or be in any sort of danger) and no one has been able to give him a competitive round. Last year alone he finished top fighters Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson, and Lyoto Machida. Will the bad blood with Rashad cause him to lose composure, get emotionally involved and make a mistake or further motivate him to do what he does best: finish people?

Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion and #2 ranked Rashad Evans has the experience, confidence, and ability to turn this fight into an upset. Having been a former training partner he has experience and insight into Jones that none of his previous opponents have had. Rashad has proven his wrestling prowess and KO power throughout his UFC career with impressive wins over Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz. His critics point to his KO loss to Lyoto Machida back in 2009 at UFC 98 and the final round in his bout with Rampage Jackson at UFC 114 where he was hurt by a punch as the biggest kink in his armor: the ability to take a punch. Whether true or not, being the finisher that he is, Jones will surely try to make every attempt to hit Evans on the chin.

For Jones to win the fight he needs to simply maintain his composure and do what he does normally. For Evans to win, he needs to outwork Jones, take him down and grind out a decision. I think the most important deciding factors in this fight will come down to Jones ability to not be ruffled by Evans before and during the fight and whether Evans can or can not take Jones down.

Rory MacDonald vs Che Mills
Canadian and former King Of The Cage champion, Rory MacDonald is considered by many to be the heir to Georges St. Pierre. Though only 23-years old he has demonstrated an ability beyond his relative inexperience with the sport. A high level of athleticism combined with natural innate ability, he has become a fan favorite by only having one of his 13 fights go to a decision. A 92% finish rate is spread out between 5 KO/TKOs and 6 submission wins. After losing by TKO in an exciting back and forth battle with current interim Welterweight champ Carlos Condit, he got back to is winning ways by winning a decision over Nate Diaz and TKOing veteran Mike Pyle. His lack of fear, aggression, fast pace and well-roundedness make him a serious threat to any welterweight.

Standing in his way and looking to form a similar reputation is Englishman Che Mills. With 7 KO/TKOs and 4 submissions he have the same well-roundedness and threat that MacDonald has. Mills has punctuated a 5 fight win streak with a 40 second destruction of Chris Cope in his UFC debut at UFC 138 in November. Mills seems to excel at striking which is what the UK’s MMA fighters are known most for. Having lost 3 bouts by submission, he will want to avoid the ground and keep the fight standing to maximize his chances to win.

Brendan Schaub vs Ben Rothwell
Brendan Schaub is 4-2 in the UFC. After getting KOed by Roy Nelson in his debut he put together four solid wins in a row, including wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. In his last fight at UFC 134 in August, he faced Antonio Noguiera and was KOed. In a cut happy era he’ll want to show that his chin is not suspect and that he can face and beat top opponents. The pressure will be on for him to perform and perform well. He has heavy power in his hands and is athletic. He will need to really tap into these to beat “Big” Ben Rothwell.

Rothwell, the former IFL Heavyweight champion at one point built a 13 fight win streak and was undefeated in the IFL. Since coming to the UFC he has gone 1-2, being TKOed by former champion Cain Velasquez and losing a decision to the revitalized Mark Hunt. Rothwell is a salty veteran, with a ton of grit, a huge heart, and a workhorse ethic. This fight is an intriguing match-up style-wise and has the potential to be the sleeper of the night. Schaub needs to connect with his big power often and put together power combinations to win and Rothwell, needs to grind Schaub against the cage or get top position on the ground.

Mark Hominick vs Eddie Yagin
Canadian Mark Hominick is never in a boring fight. The world class striker has a slew of wins over some excellent fighters including Yves Edwards, Jorge Gurgel, George Roop and Leonard Garcia, but seems to suffer from the curse of winning the big fights that matter. He has lost steps up in competition to Hatsu Hioki, Josh Grispi, Jose Aldo, and the Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung. In his fight against current champion Jose Aldo, he showed why he is one of the top guys in the weight class by being highly competitive, winning Fight of the Night honors and in some people’s minds even winning. Against the Korean Zombie he got caught cold and was KOed in 7 seconds. I expect him to be highly motivated and he will have every plan to make a huge statement against Yagin.

The well rounded Eddie Yagin lost a decision to Junior Assuncao in his debut at UFC 135. What will make this fight so interesting is that both fighters are coming off of losses and will come out blazing. The relative unknown Yagin knows that his name is not big enough to withstand 2 losses in a row in the UFC. Knowing his career is on the line he will fight appropriately. Look for this fight to be a candidate for Fight of the Night honors.

Matt Wiman vs Mark Bocek
My pick for winner of Fight of the Night goes to Matt Wiman and Mark Bocek. Stylistically this fight has fun, busy, and exciting written all over it. There is a reason “Handsome” Matt Wiman has 12 fights (8-4) in the UFC: he’s just fun to watch. Never a dull moment, Wiman is like a buzzsaw on jet fuel. He just fights every second of every round at 100%. Trying to KO you, take you down, or submit you. His relentless style always translates into an exciting fight and it’s garnered him 4 Fight of the Night honors.

Yet another Canadian on the card, Mark Bocek has 10 fights in the UFC (6-4) and has displayed some frighteningly high level submission skills. Mark does have a habit of allowing his ego to get the best of him and will stand up and box even if he takes a lot of damage. The best thing that can happen in this fight is that after some exchanges on the feet the two begin to put on a grappling clinic that turns into a war. With two of the best grapplers in the division, it would be a real trophy for either one to submit the other.

Come back for the results, updates and animated gifs. What are your picks for Jones vs Evans? The main card bouts? Who wins the bonuses?

About Joe Silvia

When Joe isn't writing, he's coaching people to punch each other in the face. He enjoys ancient cultures, dead and living languages, cooking, benching 999#s, and saving the elderly, babies and puppies from burning buildings. While he enjoys long walks on the beach, he will not be your alarm clock, because he's no ding-a-ling.

Check Also

New Bedford man arrested after reports of person with pistol in waistband walking around

“NEW BEDFORD – Patrol officers have arrested a man in the north-end sector for unlawfully …

One comment

  1. Hello Mr. Silvia:

    Great writeup! I missed this one and have been googling for writeups. You made me feel like I was live at a UFC!! Also, your knowledge of the fighters as well as the breakdown analysis is top-notch!

    I’m going to check out the rest of your writings.

    ~iggy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Translate »