5 Reasons Why Rashad Evans Could Beat Tito Ortiz

From its inception to its current standing, UFC 133 has been a card filled with many large changes. Now the main event is currently set to feature Rashad Evans taking on a resurgent Tito Ortiz in what will be the second fight between the two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions. Rashad Evans has quickly emerged as the commanding favorite to win this fight, for several reasons. And what reasons are those? Here’s my take on just that: five reasons why Rashad Evans could beat Tito Ortiz.

5. Ortiz just got done fighting two weeks ago.

Most UFC fighters fight only a few times a year, with the veterans even less so. But when Ortiz steps into the cage against Evans on August 6, it’ll have been a little over a month since he miraculously defeated Ryan Bader on July 2. Typically, fighting once a month is something only the very young and inexperienced do in an effort to build experience (and their bank account) quickly. Ortiz is not a young man anymore, and even if he won the fight against Bader via first-round submission, he could show up to the Evans fight fatigued and tired before the bell ever rings.

4. Ortiz has very little time to prepare for Evans.

This is a point I’ll be making for both fighters, so expect to see this in the follow-up piece a few days from now. Depending on who asserts themselves both early on and throughout the fight, the relatively sudden nature of this encounter could become a major factor in how both men prepare for this fight.

3. In recent fights we’ve seen Tito Ortiz both manhandled and out-wrestled.

The man that once had some of the best Ground and Pound in the business recently got dominated on the ground by Matt Hamill. In fact, it’s actually been years since we’ve seen some classic Tito Ortiz ground and pound. The closest we’ve got to it were the strikes Ortiz landed on Bader before locking in the submission. And like Matt Hamill, Rashad Evans is a very good wrestler.

2. Rashad Evans’ hand speed and power is still quite good.

As Ortiz himself has pointed out, no one in the UFC is stopping him so that must mean that he’s got something left in the gas tank. However, that fails to take into consideration the fact that Ortiz has come up short in the striking department in many of the bouts prior to his big win over Ryan Bader. The Lyoto Machida defeat in particular highlighted what a precise, fast striker could do against Ortiz.

And the number-one reason why Rashad Evans could beat Tito Ortiz is…

1. There’s ring rust, and then there’s not winning a fight in nearly five years.

Rashad Evans will have to do everything in his power to get over his ring rust, I won’t deny that. But Tito Ortiz just got done taking his career off of life support. Everyone thought Ortiz would’ve been retired by now, instead people are talking about one last big run. However, one fight does not make up for a 0-4-1 record in your five previous fights. Before the win against Bader a whole lot of people managed to beat Tito Ortiz and effectively created a blueprint on how to beat him. So long as Evans studies that blueprint, it’ll be his biggest advantage coming into UFC 133.