Rashad Evans is one of MMA’s biggest stars. After knocking out Chuck Liddell and subsequently Forrest Griffin, he won the light heavyweight title. His first defense would end in disaster as he would be knocked out by Lyoto Machida, however he’s since bounced back with three wins over Thiago Silva, Quinton Jackson, and Tito Ortiz. Unfortunately, injuries haven’t been kind to Evans as he’s faced layoff after layoff, and despite already earning his title shot, he’s taking this fight first.
Latest Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis Odds;
Phil Davis came into the UFC with a ton of hype, and has delivered in spades. He’s been a massive favourite in all of his fights, and he’s put on dominant performances over the likes of Brian Stann, and current top lightheavyweights Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alexander Gustafsson. With a win here, the UFC can easily give Davis a title shot, but it seems more likely that they’ll make him win one more and give that opportunity to Dan Henderson.
Evans has had an interesting career. He started off being known as a boring wrestler, and most thought Chuck Liddell would easily sprawl and brawl him. Instead, Evans shocked the world by keeping things standing and knocking Liddell out. He followed that up by standing with Griffin and Machida, with the Machida fight ending not so well. Since that loss, he’s reverted to his wrestling, defeating his last three opponents primarily on the ground.
Davis on the other hand has never wavered from his wrestling. The Nogueira fight has been his only fight so far where he’s show any willingness to stand, however it was all presumably just to set up the takedown. Given Evans’ power and Davis’ lack of standup ability, it’s probably fair to conclude that Davis is going to be looking for takedowns here.
Really, I don’t think this fight is too difficult to predict. Evans wants to keep things standing, and Davis is going to look to take things to the ground. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Evans shot for a takedown of his own though, and I’d be very surprised to see Davis with a standup oriented gameplan given Evans’ power.
The Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis prediction is that Rashad Evans manages to keep the fight standing, and knocks Davis out midway through the fight. It’s a very winnable fight for Davis, who unquestionably fights to win, and has the physical tools to beat most fighters in the division. However, Evans is unquestionably a big step up from the competition Davis has been fighting, and I don’t see Davis securing the takedown. To be honest, I’m actually very surprised how much respect the public is giving Davis here, and I’m really liking the -180 betting line on Evans, as I think it warrants a small to moderate sized play. Crazier things have happened, but this fight just seems like the young prospect taking that step up in competition a little too early, and Evans getting the title shot that is rightfully his.
Rashad Evans Vs Phil Davis Betting Odds Conclusion: Evans has the best wrestling of anyone Davis has faced, and with a likely standup advantage, take Evans with a small to moderate (4 unit) bet at -180.
Current Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis Betting Odds;
