UFC 98: Jackson vs. Versus Evans, Too Bad for Lyoto Machida

UFC 96 turned out to be decent for a card that on paper didn’t look as good as some of its predecessors.

There were no title fights and the point of UFC 96 was to decide match-ups for future UFC events and to help fallen or less experienced fighters get into the bigger picture.

I am going to focus on the impact of the main event which involved former UFC light heavy weight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against a tricky, but up and down fighter in Keith Jardine.

The fight was exciting, but both fighters didn’t look like they were at their best. Jardine by the end of the first round looked exhausted and Rampage wasn’t capitalizing.

The fighters had some good exchanges with both of them getting tagged. That being said, Jardine was on the receiving end of the harder shots in the exchanges.

If Jardine would have put more time in on the cardiovascular aspect of his training I think he could have come out victorious.

Due to Jardine’s lack of conditioning Jackson took advantage of Jardine having his hands down and his sloppy footwork on a few occasions.

For Jackson, what was surprising was the fact that despite Jardine’s lack of conditioning he was unable to finish the fight.

If it weren’t for the last exchange where Jackson scored the knockdown on Jardine, this fight could have been a split decision for Jackson or maybe even Jardine.

After the vicious knockout Jackson handed to Wanderlei Silva, it is a little surprising that Jackson was unable to finish this fight in similar fashion.

In any case, it is back to the drawing board for Keith Jardine who has two wins and three losses in his last five fights.

For Quinton Jackson it is on to a title shot against Jardine’s close friend and training partner Rashad Evan’s.

There is one thing that is worrisome for Jackson. Although Jackson brutally knocked out his former Achilles heel Wanderlei Silva and defeated Keith Jardine in a decision, since his loss to Forrest, Jackson has not fought a top opponent in their prime.  

Rashad Evans beat the man that snatched away Jackson’s title, Forrest Griffin. Rashad Evans has heavier hands then Jardine and although his conditioning has been suspect as well, Rashad is going to have better fitness then Jardine did last night.

Evans, unlike Wanderlei Silva is not on the tail end of his career and unlike his training partner Jardine, he hasn’t lost.

Quinton Jackson is going to have his hands full against Rashad Evans. Not to mention the fact that Evans’ training partner Jardine who lasted 3 rounds with Jackson is going to be giving Evans tips and pointers along the way.

A lot of die-hard MMA fans were probably pulling for Keith Jardine to somehow win this fight against Quinton Jackson for one reason, Lyoto Machida.

Machida like Rashad Evans has 14 fights on his resume and hasn’t lost one of them.  Both Evans and Machida leave most of their fights relatively undamaged.

Machida is in fact the fighter that has been hit the least in the UFC.

Machida’s style is based on Shotokan Karate which is based on accurate counter striking, timing, angles and distancing. Some people call it a boring style, but it is very efficient and effective in the octagon.

Some people question Machida’s knock out power, but he holds devastating knockouts over Rich Franklin and more recently a "knockout of the night" against Thiago Silva.

Machida has a tendency of frustrating his opponents, because as hard as they come at him, they can never seem to connect. This frustration usually costs his opponents dearly.

Evans against Machida would be interesting because Evans like Machida is a patient fighter who waits to deliver his knockout punch.

Some fans say an Evans-Machida fight would probably be boring, but one of them would have to engage at some point and that’s where things would get interesting.

Although it makes sense that Quinton Jackson get a shot at the title after winning two in a row since losing the belt, it would also make sense if Machida were to be offered the title shot as well.

Machida has been waiting for a title shot for a while considering he is now 14-0 in MMA and 6-0 in the UFC.

The UFC has probably offered Machida to either take on another opponent or to wait until the outcome of the Evans vs. Jackson title fight.  

By taking on another opponent Machida takes the risk of losing and going back to the bottom of the long light heavy weight ladder.

If Machida chooses to wait it could be a little while before the light heavy weight champion is ready to fight Machida.

In any case die-hard fans around the world are excited by the fact that Machida is getting closer and closer to that title shot even though Jackson didn’t lose to Jardine last night.