UFC 108 will be the first match in this year 2010 on which Evans and Silva fighting will be taken place at MGM Grand. Yet, on the night of his biggest win, when he knocked out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 in Atlanta, Evans was cascaded with boos. When he won the light heavyweight championship by stopping Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, he was greeted by catcalls.
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That’s what made the scene in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino so stunning on Tuesday. Evans arrived in the hotel as the official kickoff of public events for UFC 108 Saturday in the Grand Garden Arena and was greeted as a conquering hero.
Evans was patient and understanding and seemed to genuinely care about his fighters and their careers. Jackson came across mostly caring about where to get lunch.
That distinction has altered the perception of Evans, who raised the ire of many fans when he celebrated his win over Liddell by feigning Fred Sanford’s heart attack gimmick.
“I think the show helped change the perception of me a whole lot, because people didn’t really know me and they only knew of me what they saw when I went out there and fought,” Evans said. “When I fight, I kind of morph into a different character altogether. The person you see talking to you here now is not the same person who is not going to fight on Saturday.
Evans was slated to fight Jackson at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tenn., but Jackson pulled out so he could take a movie role. As a result, the UFC pitted Evans with Silva, who in his last outing defeated Evans’ close friend and training partner, Keith Jardine.
Evans has been inundated with questions about Jackson, since Jackson is among the handful of the most popular fighters in the world, and has gotten few questions about Silva.
A major factor in this bout will be just how Evans starts. Normally preferring to start slow, feign punches, circle, and wait for an opportunity to counter, Evans has given away rounds to Tito Ortiz, Michael Bisping, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin largely due to inactivity. If Evans starts slow, he will be easy fodder for Thiago who has shown improvement in striking intelligence. Evan’s wrestling may also be a factor, since knocking out Liddell; he has shied away from using his base skill, almost entirely. If a counter opportunity never comes, Evans is more than capable of using his wrestling to grind out a decision.
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January 10th, 2010 
Chavlo 
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