Forrest Griffin Vs. Rashad Evans: Will Lyoto Machida Finally Get His Shot?
The light heavyweight division will look radically changed over the next couple of months. There are three stellar fights which UFC fans will be treated to including the current champ’s first title defense. There is shaping up to be a six man tournament of sorts. Predicting who will fight is the fun part for this fan. So let’s get started by looking at the three fights that we are anticipating as well as where each fighter is ranked. The ladder will be important in determining who gets the next shot at the title. For ranking purposes I used bloodyelbow.com’s meta- rankings. Definitely check out their rankings if you haven’t already.
#1 Forrest Griffin vs. #4 Rashad Evans UFC 92, 93, or perhaps 94?
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While Evans is getting his title shot that doesn’t automatically get him a #2 ranking. If rankings determined who fought then Rampage Jackson would have got an automatic rematch. There are lots of things that determine who gets what fight. Dana White backed himself into a corner saying that Liddell would get a title shot if he beat Evans. Evans laid Liddell out and here we are. So is it fair that Rashad is getting the fight before Lyoto Machida or Quinton Jackson. Who’s to say? What are you using as your criteria? While this fight wasn’t what Dana White was dreaming about it is still a highly marketable fight and should be entertaining.
# 2 Quinton Jackson vs. #6 Wanderlei Silva UFC 92 (As of now)
This is a fight that was meant to happen: Jackson vs. Silva III. The Axe Murderer won in convincing fashion in both fights. Steve Curran actually ranked Jackson vs. Silva II as his #4 knockout of all time in his recent article, Out Cold: MMA's Top-10 KO's of All Time.
In it he says, “Wanderlei pumped a hard knee on Rampage's nose which left his body limp between the ropes bleeding from the mouth. Brutal.” Rampage is much improved and will be hungry to avenge those two losses. These two men don’t particularly care for each other. I am glad the UFC is letting his fight happen.
#3 Lyoto Machida vs. #10 Thiago Silva UFC 93(originally 89)
Thankfully for MMA fans this fight is back on! It will be interesting to see which one of these fighters finally puts a loss on their win-loss record as both fighters are 13-0. This is a fight of aggressive vs. defense. Will Thiago come after the wait-and-bait style of Machida? Will Lyoto be happy to outpoint Silva for the decision or will he find a submission like he did against Rameau Sokoudjou. I think fans will be treated to a more entertaining fight then some might be expecting.
So who will fight the winner of Griffin vs. Evans? Let’s look at the possible scenarios.
Both Jackson and Machida Win:
If Rampage is finally able to beat Wanderlei does he get a chance to reclaim his title? Or if Lyoto is impressive in his victory over Thiago does he leapfrog Jackson. Looking back at previous champions who lost their title they were required to fight 2 or 3 fights before getting another shot while letting others get their chance.
Most recently Liddell had to fight Wanderlei and Rashad to get a title shot (which he didn’t cash in on). Rich Franklin had to fight Jason McDonald and Yuskin Okami to earn his second defeat against Silva. History would say Machida gets the shot but his marketability says something else. How much longer can they keep Lyoto from being the most boring (in some people’s opinion) champion ever?
Verdict: Spilt Decision: Lyoto edges out Jackson and finally gets his shot while Rampage is forced to wait in line.
Both Jackson and Machida Lose:
Wouldn’t that be something! If the #2 and #3 ranked fighters both get knocked off then who slides into the title fight. Wanderlei Silva would seem like the obvious choice since he just knocked off the former champion. This will be his third fight in the UFC and put him at 2-1. A War with Liddell (loss) and a vicious defeat of #8 Keith Jardine, coupled with a defeat of #2 Rampage should do the trick. Thiago Silva is probably one or two fights away with the way things currently sit. After looking it over there really isn’t anyone else who is in a position to overtake the Axe Murderer.
Verdict: 1st round knockout: Wanderlei Silva finally gets his opportunity to sit atop the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
In the end I think we will finally see Machida get his title shot against Griffin. I will refrain picking my winner for now. I am not sure I will like my decision. Here is an relevant exerpt I found: And Griffin is wary of the threat The Dragon poses. He admitted: "I want nothing to do with that guy. Not at all."
Below is the link to the meta-rankings for the light heavyweight division.
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