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Injuries have affected the UFC’s light heavyweight division once again. Titleholder Jon Jones has been forced to pull out of the title defense against former teammate Rashad Evans that was set to take place at UFC 133. Stepping in to fill that void will be the quickly rising Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.
Jones injured his right hand while defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. This ligament tear has forced the champion onto the shelf for an extended period of time. Both the injury and fight change were reported by multiple MMA news outlets on Monday. The story was set, that former teammates due to step into the cage against each other after an escalating war of words began immediately after Jones captured the light heavyweight title. Now that potential matchup will have to wait.
Davis vs. Evans is an interesting matchup that pits two of the best wrestlers in mixed martial arts against each other.
With a record of 15-1-1, the experience edge will sit firmly with Evans. His resume is anchored by wins over Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin, and Thiago Silva. A powerful wrestler who used that ability to win season two of the Ultimate Fighter, Evans has continued to develop into an effective striker as well. However, for this fight he will not have the game planning that was brought to the table by Greg Jackson’s organization.
Davis has been recently pushed into the limelight due to MMA “experts” wondering who has the ability to defeat the current champion, Jones. “Mr. Wonderful” was last seen at UFC Fight Night 24, where he defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by unanimous decision. The tough Brazilian was able to stop many of Davis’s early takedowns and pepper him with counter boxing. But Davis changed his takedown approach and was able to score them during the second and third rounds. His performance brought both praise and critique from those individuals who believed that he represents the best chance of dethroning Jones.
The Evans-Davis matchup is important for the light heavyweight division. As the current crop of contenders eliminate each other through upcoming bouts, this fight will settle who Jones will (or at least should) face once he comes back.
While Davis has the higher level of credentials when it comes to collegiate wrestling, I believe that Evans is the better MMA wrestler. His ability to transition from striking to takedowns is tough for any fighter to deal with. But I see Davis being able to stuff a number of Evans takedown attempts, though he will have the same done to his early attempts. The outcome of this fight hinges on which fighter will have the cardio to last longer after his failed takedown attempts, and score with more frequency. Due to his experience in big fights, I think Evans will pull out the victory. But no matter who comes out on top, the UFC will have a strong contender to stand across from Jon Jones.
UFC 133 is currently set for August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Along with the Davis-Evans bout, Vitor Belfort will face Yoshihiro Akiyama, Rich Franklin is set to fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Jorge Rivera will finally take on Alessio Sakara.
