Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Boy, was I wrong yet again. Rashad Evans put an absolute beating on Chael Sonnen last night. I hate to say it, but the bout was not even competitive. Evans was able to out-wrestle Sonnen, put him on his back, and absolutely destroy him from there until the referee stopped the bout. It was a spectacular showing by Evans and a poor one from Sonnen; but just for fun, let’s take a look at what is in store for both of them.
Sonnen’s stock is clearly down. He was riding high after submitting Shogun Rua, but saw all of that hard work come crashing down. Maybe he had too much confidence in his own wrestling and did not take Evans serious. It seems like the most likely situation. With this loss, it is clear that Sonnen cannot hang with the top-five of the Light-Heavyweight division, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sonnen tested the waters, stayed true to his mantra of anytime, anywhere, and netted himself some money, plus some good exposure and experience. It is time for Sonnen to go back to the Middleweight division and start to get some wins to get back on track.
Evan’s stock went up; at least in my book it did. Before this fight, he was able to beat Dan Henderson, but he did not beat Henderson. It seemed like he had lost the fire and was just fighting to make some money. That was not the case in this fight. He went after Sonnen. Evans was ruthless in his attack, he was calculated with his grappling, and he was just overall stronger. Evans proved that he is still a threat, and with Jon Jones talking about moving up to Heavyweight, I would not be surprised to see Evans get another title shot.
