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guy. My thing with Rashad -- the last few
in Pony-Like Screenshots Wed Nov 13, 2019 1:19 pmby chenwen121314 • 609 Posts
In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Middleweights: Rashad Evans (19-5-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (18-5)Odds as of Nov. 3: Kennedy -240; Evans +200Dana Whites thoughtsI always thought Rashad was small for 205. And lets not forget, he fought on the heavyweight version of The Ultimate Fighter. I always thought he should be at 185 pounds, but he didnt want want to do it.Listen, Rashad is a super talented guy. My thing with Rashad -- the last few years I didnt know how much his head was in it. Kennedy is a tough dude who always comes forward and I think hell bring the best out of Rashad. Ive had those talks with Rashad: It doesnt seem like youre here, man. Ive just always thought hes super talented, explosive, great wrestler, knockout power, hes got all the tools.Whats at stake?Kennedy: After UFC 205, Bisping title shot or ... retirement?Kennedy is pretty confident he can beat Michael Bisping, the current UFC 185-pound champion. Probably because it hasnt been that long since he did it.For Kennedy, 37, UFC 205 will mark his first appearance since a frustrating, controversial loss to Yoel Romero in September 2014. At this point in his career, Kennedy is pretty committed to only accepting big fights. Hes also frequently out of the country, which can make booking a fight difficult.An offer to fight Evans in Madison Square Garden was just the kind of offer to bring him back into the cage, but Kennedy says that should say something about his future demands. Basically, it will take an even sweeter offer to bring him back beyond this.If [the UFC] isnt saying, Your next fight is against Bisping, who I smashed last time, then I dont even know, Kennedy said. I cant imagine the fight that would bring me in again. If it took Madison Square Garden, on the biggest fight card in MMA history, against a former light heavyweight champion, perennial contender, coming to a new weight class for the first time, in a state where they just legalized MMA -- If it took that much to get me back here in the first place, it will sure as hell take a big, shiny belt for me to stay.Not that Kennedy is overlooking Evans, whom he has trained alongside at Jackson-Wink MMA in the past and says naturally outweighs him by as much as 35 pounds. This will be Evanss first fight at 185, after years of competition at 205.He had about 20 to 30 pounds on me when he was here, and that was when he was in fight camp, Kennedy said. So, maybe a 35-pound difference naturally.Hes been a special athlete for a long time. Hes going to show up on weight on that scale and hes gonna do it smart. I always thought he was an undersized light heavyweight. Im confident hes doing it the correct way, dieting, exercising, doing the work.Evans: Once I made up my mind to continue, the doubt stopped right awayIf Evans fighting career wasnt quite in jeopardy following a first-round knockout loss in April, it was at least a bit uncertain.The 12-year veteran lasted less than two minutes in that fight before succumbing to a Glover Teixeira left hook. Afterwards he called the performance embarrassing, and said he didnt want to lose heart or hope in fighting but something had to change.One big change ahead of this fight is a 20-pound change. Evans has played with the idea of moving to middleweight in the past and hell ultimately do so here, in his 26th professional fight.Im usually counting down the days of a fight camp, waiting for that week off before the fight. Evans said. This camp, Ive been telling myself to go easy during some of these days, I feel so good. I feel healthy. Ive cleaned out my diet. Im really happy with everything and Im walking around everywhere with my shirt off.Once I made up my mind this was something I was going to continue, the doubt stopped right away. Those were my raw feelings at the time, after the loss. When I stepped in the Octagon, I didnt feel the connection I normally did. A lot of it was just bringing things in to the cage from my personal life. Ive made peace with a lot of areas and its allowed me to just focus on fighting.In addition to turning heads in south Florida, Evans says his new, leaner physique will allow him to do something he hasnt been able to do for years competing at a higher weight -- impose his strong wrestling skills on opponents.A lot of these guys were cutting from 230. As Im getting older and lighter, I was going in at 210 pounds. The impact was a lot different and I finally said, You know what? These guys are just way bigger. I havent had the strength to grab someone and really impose my will on them. Thats when I decided to make the drop.Key statsEvans: 19-5-1 (14-5-1 UFC); middleweight debutEvans: 50 takedowns in UFC career, eighth-most among active UFC fightersKennedy: 18-5 (3-1 UFC); first fight since Sep 2014Kennedy: 14 of 18 wins by stoppage (7 by knockout, 7 by submission)BreakdownIts easy to talk yourself into an Evans win here. Kennedy has been away for two years, but more than that, Evans still seems like hes one right hand or left hook away from old magic.The unfortunate truth is that minus one dominant performance against Chael Sonnen three years ago, Evans hasnt looked right in a while. Whats interesting about that is that Sonnen is a middleweight, and if you listen to Evanss comments, he believes thats noteworthy. At light heavy, Evans was undersized. At middleweight, maybe he will look like that power wrestler his career was built on.If that is to be the case though, this seems like a tough matchup for his middleweight entrance. Kennedy will not be an easy target for offensive wrestling, and even though Evans hits harder, Kennedys chin is probably in better shape at this point. Evans has been a little gun-shy in recent years and the weight cut is a bit of an unknown. Early success with his wrestling would be a huge confidence boost.Prediction: Kennedy by decision.You make the call: Fake Custom Jerseys . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Custom Jerseys Cheap .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins players and coaches say their turnaround from 0-2 to 4-2 is a matter of resilience.Coach Jay Gruden and cornerback Bashaud Breeland cited a strong response to adversity, and quarterback Kirk Cousins said no one hit the panic button. But this four-game winning streak isnt just about next man up, taking it one play at a time, never quitting, always believing or any other sports clich?.No, Washington has climbed back up the NFC East standings on a foundation of a balanced offense, clutch defense and improved play from Cousins over the past four weeks. The Redskins go into Week 5 at the Detroit Lions feeling good about themselves -- but not too good, knowing how quickly things can change.We know were on fire, but in order to stay on fire in this league you have to take it one day at a time, wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. You cant peak. We have the Lions ahead of us and thats a big game for us. Every game is big.After opening with home losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins have come up big in victories against the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles .Its no coincidence that three of those four wins came with a heavy emphasis on the running game. The Redskins had 89 passing attempts to 39 rushes in the first two weeks of the season, and since then Cousins has thrown the ball 138 times and handed it off 109 times.The three-headed running attack of feature back Matt Jones, rookie Robert Kelley and third-down back Chris Thompson has allowed Cousins to get a breather and given him more time to execute the offense.It benefits everybody when we have good balance, Gruden said Monday. We love that recipe, man. Its been good to us when we can run the ball as much as we throw it.Throwing it has been better, too. After one touchdown and three interceptions in the first two games, Cousins has eight touchdowns and three interceptions during the streak.His QB rating was over 100 against the Giants and Browns, and while the picks have been a problem he has been good enough to make up for his mistakes.On the other side of the ball, the defense has withstood a season-ending injury to safety DeAngelo Hall, potentially season-ending ones to safety David Bruton and nose tackle Kedric Golston and injuries to Breeland and cornerback Dashaun Phillips. Custom Jerseys Nike. After getting torched for 38 points and 437 yards by Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, and giving up 27 points to Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, the Redskins defense hasnt allowed a second-half touchdown in four consecutive games.Theyre doing it a lot of different ways, Gruden said. Theyve mixed up their coverages and stunts and stopped the run game better in the second half. We give up some big plays, but they bend but dont break and hold to field goals, which is excellent.Defensive end Chris Baker said it has been a case of playing better fundamental football, which includes solving the tackling problem that had cropped up. A big difference is the defense is better rested because it has improved on third down of late.The Ravens and Eagles converted on just seven of 27 third downs over the past two weeks. And the Redskins defense hasnt allowed a touchdown since four minutes into the Baltimore game, a streak of almost eight full quarters.Defensive coordinator Joe Barry was criticized for early season struggles, and now he and the position coaches are getting some credit for the improvements and adjustmentsThose guys are doing an excellent job coaching those guys up, but the players are making plays and thats what its about, Gruden said. Theyre getting off blocks and theyre making the tackles when they have to make the tackles. ... Theyre pursuing to the football, theyre playing hard, theyre playing with confidence (and) theyre making plays.Game notes Gruden said receiver Josh Doctson will be shut down for a few weeks to rest a lingering left Achilles tendon injury. Injured reserve remains a possibility for the first-round pick. ... Linebacker Sua Cravens will increase his workload this week as he tries to come back from a concussion that caused him to miss the Eagles game, Gruden said. Its unclear if Cravens will be ready to face the Lions.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno .---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
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