RASHAD REVEALS PLAN THAT CRACKED THE ICEMAN
As the fight with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell drew nearer, Rashad Evans swelled up with confidence ready to show the world that he was ready to go to the next level in the sport by beating the MMA icon in their main event showdown at UFC 88 last weekend.
Part of the confidence he had going into the bout with Liddell was a masterful gameplan concocted by coaches like Mike Winklejohn, Greg Jackson and especially close friend and training partner Keith Jardine.
Early on in the process of devising a strategy, it was Evans’ stand-up coach, Mike Winklejohn, who told the former Michigan State wrestler that he could give “The Iceman” all he could handle without ever taking the fight to the ground.
“Me and my coach Mike Winklejohn, when we came up with the gameplan and stuff like that, he seen that the key to beating Chuck was just stay on the feet,” said Evans during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “I think the biggest opening for Chuck is just exchanging with him. He said ‘I believe in your hands. I know you can do it, but you have to make him miss.’”
In the first round of the fight, Evans implemented the first part of the gameplan by frustrating his opponent, while also paying close attention to what Liddell was doing in his attack.
“Get his timing and feel him out a little bit, get him frustrated and get him coming forward,” he said about the first round. “I really wanted him to start coming forward because I didn’t want to play that chase game, because that is where he is most effective at, is when you’re chasing him then he drops and he sits down on that right hand.”
What happened in the second round was a masterful piece of strategy put together by Evan’s training partner, Keith Jardine, who defeated Liddell in 2007. Evans was able to time Liddell’s punches based simply on a facial expression.
“He bites down, he almost clinches his nose a little bit, just with the anticipation of wanting to hit. And the madder he was getting, the easier it was to tell when he was going to try to strike me,” Evans commented. “He has his mean look on the whole time, but when he gets ready to hit you, he kind of like really, really, really bites down on his lip and frowns his nose up.”
Apparently Liddell’s signs are akin to that of John Malkovich in the film “Rounders,” but instead of eating Oreo’s, The Iceman made the face that called for a fight ending overhand right.
“I threw the overhand right and then I tried to follow with a left hook, because I also landed in the first round, that I had to finish left with Chuck because Chuck’s right hand was coming,” he said. “I was just trying to throw when he threw.”
Soon after, Evans was dancing in celebration, calling it a “Fred Sanford imitation with the heart attack” paying homage to the late great Redd Foxx, while happy with the biggest win of his career.
Next up for Evans is a title fight with current champion Forrest Griffin, but the Team Jackson member will surely have another solid strategy lined up to win the championship title.
As the fight with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell drew nearer, Rashad Evans swelled up with confidence ready to show the world that he was ready to go to the next level in the sport by beating the MMA icon in their main event showdown at UFC 88 last weekend.
Part of the confidence he had going into the bout with Liddell was a masterful gameplan concocted by coaches like Mike Winklejohn, Greg Jackson and especially close friend and training partner Keith Jardine.
Early on in the process of devising a strategy, it was Evans’ stand-up coach, Mike Winklejohn, who told the former Michigan State wrestler that he could give “The Iceman” all he could handle without ever taking the fight to the ground.
“Me and my coach Mike Winklejohn, when we came up with the gameplan and stuff like that, he seen that the key to beating Chuck was just stay on the feet,” said Evans during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “I think the biggest opening for Chuck is just exchanging with him. He said ‘I believe in your hands. I know you can do it, but you have to make him miss.’”
In the first round of the fight, Evans implemented the first part of the gameplan by frustrating his opponent, while also paying close attention to what Liddell was doing in his attack.
“Get his timing and feel him out a little bit, get him frustrated and get him coming forward,” he said about the first round. “I really wanted him to start coming forward because I didn’t want to play that chase game, because that is where he is most effective at, is when you’re chasing him then he drops and he sits down on that right hand.”
What happened in the second round was a masterful piece of strategy put together by Evan’s training partner, Keith Jardine, who defeated Liddell in 2007. Evans was able to time Liddell’s punches based simply on a facial expression.
“He bites down, he almost clinches his nose a little bit, just with the anticipation of wanting to hit. And the madder he was getting, the easier it was to tell when he was going to try to strike me,” Evans commented. “He has his mean look on the whole time, but when he gets ready to hit you, he kind of like really, really, really bites down on his lip and frowns his nose up.”
Apparently Liddell’s signs are akin to that of John Malkovich in the film “Rounders,” but instead of eating Oreo’s, The Iceman made the face that called for a fight ending overhand right.
“I threw the overhand right and then I tried to follow with a left hook, because I also landed in the first round, that I had to finish left with Chuck because Chuck’s right hand was coming,” he said. “I was just trying to throw when he threw.”
Soon after, Evans was dancing in celebration, calling it a “Fred Sanford imitation with the heart attack” paying homage to the late great Redd Foxx, while happy with the biggest win of his career.
Next up for Evans is a title fight with current champion Forrest Griffin, but the Team Jackson member will surely have another solid strategy lined up to win the championship title.
