Rashad Evans vs Mauricio Shogun Rua set for UFC light heavyweight title fight, early analysis

May 29, 2010 by Narcisist in News, Rumors, UFC, UFC with 44 Comments

Tonight at UFC 113 Rashad Evans earned his second title shot in the light heavyweight divison by defeating his rival Quinton Rampage Jackson by decision with a mixture of speed and constant pressure. Evans will now move on to face the newly crowned champion Mauricio Shogun Rua at a undetermined date later this year. Evans and Shogun matchup well, and should present a ton of new problems to each other when they meet for the title. In this post I will do an early analysis of the two fighters that should show how they matchup on paper when they do meet in the Octagon.

Mauricio Shogun Rua may have defeated the man who took the title from Rashad Evans, but I do not suspect that means he has a big advantage over the former champion when they do meet. I feel that Shogun presents a ton of new problems to Evans and vice verse.

Shogun Advantage and disadvantages

Mauricio Shogun Rua has a really good advantage going into this fight against Rashad Evans and it’s the same one that almost earned him the title at UFC 104 last year. quick and powerful leg kicks. If you go back and watch Rashad Evan’s fight against Forrest Griffin many people forget that Forrest was landing kicks on Rashad’s legs for a majority of that fight. Most just remember the conclusion and how Rashad won. Rua will need to use good head movement and speed to keep away from Evan’s power punches, but he can use his leg kicks to eventually wear down Evans and negate his speed. Rashad Evans struggled with Lyoto Machida’s speed and his ability to move in and keep him off balanced with knees to his abdomen and punches to his face. Rua could easily do the same with his leg kicks and heavy hands.

Mauricio Shogun Rua will also have to beware of Evans ability to throw over hand right punches when he does throw those leg kicks. If you watch Shogun throwing his kicks, it is possible that Evans can come over the top after absorbing or checking one of Rua’s kicks and rock him with a clean punch.

Rashad Advantages

Rashad Evans also has a major advantage when he meets up against Mauricio Shogun Rua and it’s his bread and butter: wrestling. If you go back and watch Mauricio Shogun Rua’s fights against Mark Coleman, you will see he can struggle with a quick shot and the double leg takedown . If you watch their most recent fight at UFC 93, Rua was actually taken down at will and possibly on his way to losing a decision had it not been for a late third round knockout.In terms of conditioning this was not the same Shogun that defeated Chuck Liddell and Lyoto Machida, but this is a hole that Evan’s strategic coaching staff will look to exploit early and often.

When they do meet on the ground it will be up to Evans to punish Rua as fast as possible, because if he doesn’t he risks the champion sweeping from the bottom or escaping quickly. If you go back and watch the UFC 113 main event, Machida took down Rua with relative ease but was unable to keep him on his back. Rua’s speed has always been good on the ground and keeping him on his back after he trained with Demian Maia has not proven to be an easy task.

This fight is a match maker’s wet dream in terms of skill and speed, but in my opinion could go either way. Shogun’s ability to improve since his return at UFC 93 has only begun in my opinion, but I feel Evan’s is hungrier then ever after losing his belt last year.

Give me some predictions in the comment section, I want to know who you think will take this fight and why.

Fedor is legend

Shogun all the way, you forgot to mention how Rashad has gotten rocked in the third round of his last three fights and Shogun will finish him if he rocks him.

http://urdirt.com Narcisist

Shogun all the way, you forgot to mention how Rashad has gotten rocked in the third round of his last three fights and Shogun will finish him if he rocks him.

I agree with you on that, I don’t think that Rashad can afford to get wobbled at all by Shogun. Shogun is a natural finisher and won’t let a opportunitty to finish Rashad slip through his fingers.

josh

i think rashad will take down shogun by knockout

gerry

if he rocks rashad. if.
but you’re prpbably talking about the rashad of old. did you see how he transformed for his fight with rampage jacson. he was a totally different fighter. my $10 bucks says its rashad all the way. i respect your opinion though. so lets just wait and see.

user719

what i like, is the fact Rua is extremely comfortable standing & striking. He’ll get his way. Liddell & Machida(2), he looked great, he was never pressed. i can’t see that happening, i don’t really care when everyone said he had a knee injury or coming back from ring rust when he fought Griffin & Coleman. you take him down and make him work, he’s going to gas out. just never saw it because most of his fights end in the 1st round, dating back to his Pride days. i think Rashad takes it & Jackson’s camp prevail… of course via decision, probably take something out of GSP’s textbook. no way Rashad is going to stand & trade punches, not his style & probably his weak areas.

Hellboi

I think Shogun had a really good tank in Pride and his two acl injuries slowed him down but he is slowly getting back where he used to be and should be able to hang with Rashad. But in the end I got Rashad by decision because he will take Shogun down at will and take his belt.

Ctroll

I want to see how Rashad will handle knees, kicks and punches coming in combos when he can’t handle a one dimensional Rampage

shogun will win over evans

I think shogun will beat evans. Evans is a skill fighter and of course a fast striker, but shoguns punches are far accurate and superior. Shogun doesn’t swing just because. He often lands in strategic places to take his opponents. If rampage barely touched him on the 3rd round and seem to be space out for a few seconds shogun doesn’t give u oportunities he will beat him up. Those powerful kicks will be his first missions then the body. Shogun has proven to fight against speed. Machida is a great example. At this moment evans will have a chance but not an opportunity

boogerboss

no your wrong

Ctroll

Shogun by knockout Rashad has a suspect chin and has gotten rocked in three straight fights. Shogun finishes fights he wont leave room for Rashad to come back
Mayhem14

The second Rashad leaves an opening shogun will expliot it and ko him. And Rashad has left openings in all of his last 3 fights. So shogun by ko

Ctroll

Agreed Shogun by Tko round one

Guidic

Yo en lo Personal le voy a Mauricio Shogn Rua sobre Rashad debido a que es más estrategico y puede ser incluso más agresivo. todo depende del momento… Pero definitivamente es una Interesante Pelea.
Tempest

Some people tend to forget that Shogun is also a bjj black belt too he’s submitted wrestlers before. I expect them both to be go tremendous shape and is going to be a great fight but I got Shogun taking out evans by ko
Jonny

Rashad Is a great fighter well rounded,strong and fast. But lucky in my opinion to have won his last two fights.He came very close to getting knocked out against Rampage and Silva where both opponents failed to finish. Shogun will not let it slip

Ctroll

Yup Shogun will finish him if he rocks him

tom

Everyone thinks that Shogun is going to win thi s fight. Shogun beat Machida in my opinion because there was no confusion on how to deal with his style due to the fact that they’ve spared together back in brazil. Shogun had an effctive strategy to deal with Machida. I have noticed that Shogun gasses easily. If this fight goes to a decision, it will be in favor of Rashad. Shogun has to knock him out. Even though he has an awesome jiu jitsu background i don’t see him winning via submission. I think that Shogun is going to catch him at some point in the fight but if he can’t finish him when it happens he’s going to lose. i give this fight 55% Shogun 45% Rashad.

LUCAN

“SHOGUN GASSES EASILY”…PLEASE!!!!..MAN, IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE GRIFFIN VS SHOGUN FIGHT,YOU REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, THAT’S HISTORY, AND WE ALL KNOW WHY HE GASSED OUT. DIDN’T YOU SEE THE MACHIDA VS SHOGUN FIRST FIGHT?, HE COULD´VE FOUGHT A 6TH ROUND EASILY. FIGHTERS EVOLVE MAN.. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A GUY WHO PROVED HE IS A TRUE CHAMPION AGAINST MACHIDA.
EVANS HAS NO CHANCE AGAINST SHOGUN: 80% SHOGUN, 20% EVANS, AND I’M BEING NICE WITH EVANS.

Rashad is boss

Rashad is way to quick for shogun. Rashad will take either by tko or it’ll go to the judges.

Avatar

I think Rashad has a good chance, in fact I think he’s gonna win via TKO 2nd round, but to say he is too fast for Shogun? That’s a bit over the top guy… Machida made Evans look slow when they fought… Shogun beat Machida by KO, get your facts straight and make an intelligent argument instead of just saying the fighter’s strengths. Styles make fights, not strengths.

boogerboss

Rashad is going to win via decision or tko because rashad has powerful strikes has fast head movement and has explosive takedown power, if shogun catches him and rocks him rashad will just get back too his feet like he did with rampage his wrestling is just too good for shogun, and plus you people forget to mention that rashad is also a brazilian jui-jistu blackbelt and is more likely to pull of a submission then shogun, and even if shogun pulls of a submission when rashad takes him down rashad wont tap hes to hungry too give up getting the title back. People really need to stop underestimating Rashad because his whole career he has been an underdog and i think he can pull out and win this match and reclaim his belt, its suga time bitches.

Avatar

Rashad’s black belt is a joke… look like it up, the belt was thrown at him, he didn’t even have to test for it.

boogerboss

Rashad also can catch leg kicks and knees just like he did with Thiago and forest griffin and i think Rashad has a speed advantage and a class advantage unlike shougun being well versed in one area,rashad is good in all areas- wrestling, strikes, and submissions, he can put you on your back and keep you on your back like he showed with thiago and his previous fights where he wrestled plus his ability of being a very elusive fighter unlike shogun who puts his gameplan out in the open, when shogun fights you know what hes gonna do. If shogun tries to push the pace rashad will either explode and show some hands, counter, or take him down or just knock shoguns bitch ass out just like he did with chuck lidell. Rashads speed is just too much for shogun and will most likely overwhelm shogun with his striking ability,power punches, and wrestling,rashad should just keep doing what hes doing pressuring people in the clinch and using his great wrestling to his advantage, simple as this i give it to rashad via unanamous decision, or tko strikes due to the fact that shogun has a history of being overwhelmed by wrestlers.

Mayhem14

rashad will be way too scared to strike with shogun all he’ll do is wrestle.
in the third round shogun will catch him and finish him unlike rampage and thiago
and whats this only Rashad is good in all areas thing? shogun has been studying bjj longer than mui thai
5 rounds is a long time to not get tagged rashad always leaves openings and shogun is very good at capitalizing on them.
sorry but shogun will ko rashad down to middleweight

Rity minor

One solid leg kick from shogun should pretty much take away any effective take down or stick and move stradegy from Rashad. Rashad isn’t as tough as shogun, shogun has a better stand up and ground game…. Evans and fighters like Evans r out of their league against this level of fighter…. Only thing Evans can pray for is a lucky punch or dislocated elbow.
JAYJAYDAREALIST

I think Rashad will win because i think you people have forgotten the fact that Rashad is one of the hardest people to knock out in the UFC.Shogun is an excellent fighter and has great Muay-Thai,but i predict that Rashad will knock him out in the 4th Round -_-

LEEROY85

NO WAY. RASHAD GOT KOd BY MACHIDA,SHOGUN HAS NEVER BEEN KOd.I MEAN THE GUY HAS TRADED PUNCHES WITH THE BEST AND NEVER GOT ROCKED BEFORE WHILE RASHADS BEEN VISABLY ROCKED QUITE A FEW TIMES.

Junior-canada

When that match happens, I will light some candles and pray for Rashad not to get very hurt…HE DOES NOT STAND A CHANCE AGAINST SHOGUN!!!!!
JOSE

If Shogun´s cardio is good…poor Rashad!!!!
JOSE

Shogun Knocks him out in round 1!!!
felix

rashad will win via decision!!!!!
manny

rashad all the way. ya’ll need to open ya’lls eyes and see rashads hand speed cardio and excellent take downs. The only thing shogun has coming into this fight is that belt that is rightfully rashads! this will be a KO 3rd round..no doubt in my mind!
Mahallo

What you all are forgetting is a factor that even Rua cant handle. Rashad was trained by Dan the Beast Severign(sorry if spelled wrong) and gives great testament to that everytime he takes someone down. Rua does have amazing striking but if you look at how he strikes its not all technical. Rua pushes the pace and chases much like any striker who gets trigger happy. Rashad is a much faster and i believe much stronger fighter than Rua has faced. Machida was good but he was a striker fighting a striker. I see rua chasing rashad and rashad taking him down. Rua has never wrestled a grappler of rashads calibur. rashad by decision.
ph023933

With no disrespect to evans, but i think there is an experience gap between evans and shogun. shogun has faced most of the skilled fighter during his pride days and most them are legends and was able to beat them them up. About his wrestling i think evans has an advantage but it’s not the first time that shogun faced a wrestler, about evans power as well, lets say he’s got some power behind those punches but i doubt he has the capability to land a gud 1, and even if he lands it, shogun’s chin is second to none, if u watch his previous fyts this guy has never been knock out considering the fact that was facing the most dangerous fighters in MMA. Evans chin? I’ve seen it faltered, he even got caught by rampage unfortunately rampage wasn’t able to maintain the momentum. i say this fyt goes to shogun but then again anything can happen, its just that when it comes to raw skills and talent shogun is way far better than rashad.
Mahallo

screw it deigo sanchez by shooting
PridFC

Look
PridFC

LOOK! rashad wont stand 5 rounds with shogun. look at the fight with rampage. rashad almost got knocked out because he gassed bcuz of his takedowns. same with thiago silva, rashad alsmost got dropped because he was gassed. Rashads cardio isnt good enough to last 5 rounds if hes just gonna keep trying to take shogun down. Rashad won over thiago & rampage bcuz it was 3 rounds and saved by the bell.

CHAPPIE1990

I just believe, with every fight undertaken by competitors by the end of it a better fighter emerges. Mainly on the winning side of things. Either way should be an exciting match up!

quarantine

NEW RASHAD ALL THE WAY HE IS SO ATHLETIC WAT I MEAN BY THAT IS HE CAN ALWAYS LEARN NEW THINGS AND GET BETTER
vanylle

rua beat machida twice, the person that kicked evans ass. evans is not technical as rua, hes not capable of knocking out rua nor submitting him. evans also has a glass chin the only thing he is effective against with are to those non defensive or less technical fighters. his elusiveness will not save him from getting rocked on a 5 round fight. rua by decision if not a ko..

http://urdirt.com boydanny93

rashad also TKO somebody that Shogun couldn’t do.

braden antle

Shogun will likely win this fight because he got his black belt in bjj in 4 years which is crazy fast and his striking is so effective and unpredictable, rashad does have a chance if he can out wrestle rua for five rounds and lay and pray until the bell saves him from a fight, but i dont see it that way. shogun outclasses rashad and has more experience against better fighters so if you a rashad fan i would be praying he gets subbed becuase his chin cant take shoguns power
nick

i think that it will be a drawn out match but i give shogun the win by knockout in the 3rd round
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