In less than two weeks, Anderson Silva will face Chael Sonnen. It’s the most anticipated rematch in recent memory, and it’s hard for fight fans to think about anything else. Every time I see two people fighting at a bar, I think of Chael Sonnen shooting for a double, and every time I walk past a tae-kwon-do gym in NYC, I think of Anderson Silva throwing an unnecessarily complicated jumping-wheel-kick. The thought of the two best middleweights reuniting in the Octagon literally even follows me into my bathroom, but I ask it to go away because I don’t like when it watches me do my business. I also like privacy in the shower, but it’s cool if it hangs out while I’m drying off. Apparently I’m not alone. Rashad Evans also has intimate thoughts about that rematch, and the potential of fighting Anderson Silva immediately thereafter. He’d even be willing to cut to middleweight if Ando was down for a fight after UFC 148.
“I thought about (moving to middleweight), then I thought about how hard that weight cut is. I used to wrestle at 174 in college, I would cut so much weight on a continuous basis and I was like, ‘You know what? If I ever have to compete again, I’m not cutting weight like that’. Because what ends up happening is, the philosophy is, ‘Oh well you go down to a lower weight and you’ll be stronger’. Not necessarily. Some people go down to a lower weight and they’re actually weaker, and I felt like when I was the best athlete I could be in college wrestling, is when I wrestled to my natural weight. So that’s what I try to do in fighting, I try to compete at my natural weight. I may go to 185 and not be the same fighter because I’m maybe cutting too much weight.”
“Anderson (Silva) is somebody I would love to fight because when it’s all said and done, whether you win or lose, to compete against the best in the sport is really what it’s all about. You know, if I can walk away from my career and say I competed against some of the best in the sport in my time and era, then I can wrap up and say I had a really great career. So if the opportunity comes, and that fight happens, yeah I would drop to 185 to fight.”
Rashad Evans at 185lbs would be as exciting as Rashad Evans at 205lbs, except the middleweight division could really use his fashion advice. That being said, I support the transition, Rashad. Please bring your pinstripe swagger to 185 and educate the remainder of the fellas there on how to execute the perfect Windsor knot, or at the very least, a Peruvian necktie. [Source]
