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After Jon Jones' dominant performance at UFC 135, have your perceptions changed on Rashad Evans' chances against Jones from when that fight was originally planned, and what must Evans do to capture the belt?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Nothing that I saw from Jon Jones on Saturday night gave me any more, or less, reason to believe that Rashad Evans has a realistic chance to defeat Jones when they eventually fight. It's still the most athletic light heavyweight we've ever seen taking on a blown up middleweight. Evans is athletic, has power, understands angles, will devise a very solid gameplan, and will still have a 14 inch reach disadvantage. If Evans manages to clip him, we still don't know if Jones can take a punch or not. But the odds of Evans landing flush are slim.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
No, they haven't changed much at all. I didn't give Rashad a great chance to begin with, and nothing has changed to make me feel differently. I give Rashad maybe a 30% chance to beat Jones. What Rashad has to do to beat Jones is to close the distance as quickly as he can. The insane reach advantage Jones has over everyone allows him to make little mistakes but still be able to overcome them. Rashad needs to get inside and make Jones pay for any and every mistake he makes. I would advise Rashad to work the body as much as he can, punish the ribs and make it hard for Jones to breathe correctly. Another thing he could do is work the legs, but the length of Jones makes that a dangerous situation. It's possible for Evans to win, but it's going to take a massive effort to succeed.
ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
No change in perception for this columnist. Rashad Evans will have no chance against Jon Jones. He, in fact, will do less to Jones than Rampage Jackson just did. Jones will look to quickly dispatch Evans, and show the world that talk is cheap, and that he will take out a lot of aggression on Evans.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Jones proved he is for real at UFC 135. Rampage proved Jones will not be able to run through every opponent with ease. I thought Evans had a good chance against Jones then and now. Evans is a much larger threat than the last three opponents faced by Jon Jones. Evans is a more complete fighter than Rampage or Bader. Shogun's style was tailor made for Jones. Bader has good wrestling, but his striking is not on the level of Evans. Evans must get the fight to the ground. He has good enough striking to set up and complete successful takedowns. I am confident he understands how to do this because he trained with Jones for a good amount of time at Greg Jackson's camp. Utilizing his leg kicks will be the key to Evans if he wants to win. He has good enough wrestling to use it in reverse against Jones take down attempts. If Evans can get the fight on the mat, he can win. If Jones can keep the fight standing or take down Evans and keep the top position he should win.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
While Jones looked great at UFC 135, Quinton Jackson's criticism of Jones' striking seems to hold some weight. Jones really doesn't seem to have one shot knockout power, and Jackson proved that with quality preparation, you can stop Jones' takedowns.
Rashad Evans is considerably faster than Rampage, and probably Jon Jones as well. His movement is unorthodox, his boxing is crisp, because of his size he's used to getting on the inside of his opponents' reach, and most importantly he can put Jon Jones on his back.
Jon Jones hasn't been taken down in the UFC thus far, but Rashad Evans is a different animal than anyone he's faced. He's fast, he's explosive, and Evans is willing to win ugly if he has to.
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I still think Rashad poses more problems for Jon Jones than Rampage did, in that he'll force the champ to play defense more than any of his previous opponents, but it doesn't make me think Rashad has any more or less of a chance than I did before. His only chance is to put the pressure on Jones from the opening bell, keeping him on the defensive, and hoping not being able to set the pace in a fight for the first time tires Jones out enough for Evans to take advantage.
[Rashad Evans art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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