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Evans, Bisping Battle at ‘Validation’  
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by Tomas Rios (trios@sherdog.com)

In case the marketing campaign didn't get to you, the main event of Michael "The Count" Bisping and Rashad "Sugar" Evans is the first ever clash of "Ultimate Fighter" season winners.

Potentially mortgaging the future of two premier prospects may seem foolhardy, but the light heavyweight division offers little in the way of easy match-ups regardless of how many SpikeTV appearances you've logged.

For Bisping (14-0), "The Ultimate Fighter" served as notice to the MMA world that England exports more than just whiny rock bands and Hugh Grant romantic comedies. Although "The Count" met little resistance from his reality TV housemates, Bisping's time in the UFC thus far has hardly been Strawberry Fields Forever.

Showcase matches against Eric Schafer (Pictures) and Elvis Sinosic (Pictures) nearly ended in disaster as Bisping no longer enjoyed the unchallenged dominance that came with competing against the mediocre talent pool of English organizations.

A return to form was expected at UFC 75 as Bisping was slated to take on TUF cast mate Matt Hamill (Pictures). What followed was surrealism on par with Marcel Duchamp: Hamill bullied Bisping all over the Octagon and consistently got the better of him in exchanges.

Although Bisping was awarded a split decision, the victory is viewed by many as tainted and indicative of the often times clueless judging that pervades the sport. With his reputation in shambles, Bisping's perfect record seems to carry as much weight as an O.J. Simpson not-guilty plea.

A draw against Tito Ortiz (Pictures) may have put a crimp in Evans' (10-0-1) own otherwise perfect record, but he stands poised to cash in on Dana White's promise of a title shot for the winner of this bout.

If such a scenario were to play out, it would be a Hitchcockian turn of events for Evans, who began his UFC career struggling to decision victories over the likes of Sam Hoger (Pictures) and Stephan Bonnar (Pictures).

Back to back knockouts of Jason Lambert (Pictures) and Sean Salmon (Pictures) put to rest the notion of Evans being a Hammer House throwback, but that draw with Tito Ortiz (Pictures) left a sour taste in the Michigan native's mouth.

Struggling in the clinch against the much larger Ortiz, Evans resorted to spastic and ineffective boxing before finally coming to his senses and taking the fight to Ortiz. Although Evans salvaged a draw from the bout, the onus is on him to prove that he can live up to the grand tradition of the "Sugar" moniker in combat sports.

To do so, Evans must improve on the road map to success laid out by Hamill. Namely, keeping the Englishman off balance by seizing the initiative on the feet and scoring takedowns before Bisping can offer anything in return.

Given Bisping's suspect wrestling and lack of KO power, Evans has the luxury of switching between striking and ground control without fear of playing into his opponent's hands. Worth considering is Bisping's admission that middleweight may be a more ideal weight for him, which means Evans will not have to overcome the size disadvantage he faced in his last fight.

The deck is certainly stacked against Bisping in this bout and don't count on him getting any favorable judging this time around. Evans will control every facet of this fight and notch a lopsided unanimous decision.

All Evans has to do now is beat Quinton Jackson (Pictures) and go on a five-year reign of terror to justify taking the nickname of Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard as his own. Sounds easy enough.


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