The upcoming UFC 192 event will see Daniel Cormier defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Alexander Gustafsson, and Ryan Bader vs. Rashad Evans in another key bout on the card.
When asked about this weekend’s Cormier vs. Gustafsson fight, Evans predicted:
“I’ve got to go with D.C. I think his competitive edge and his ability to make people fight his fight is going to give him the edge. I think that D.C. fights at his pace and does a really good job of bringing people into his pace. There’s really only one time he’s been brought out of his pace, and that was with Jon Jones. Early on he had his opportunities in that fight but he just didn’t follow through with it. I think he’s definitely learned lessons from that and I think he’s learned how to make people fight in his zone, and I think he’s going to do the same thing against Gustafson.”
Meanwhile, Cormier predicted Evans would be victorious in his returning fight:
“It’s a tale of two different Rashad’s,” Cormier said. “It’s not Ryan Bader. Ryan Bader is going to be who he is. He’s a much better version of who he was before because now he’s patient. Now he takes his time with his striking, and he’s more confident in his striking, which sets up his wrestling. So, we know who Ryan Bader is going to be. “Who is Rashad going to be? Is it going to be Rashad the world beater that threw Chael Sonnen down and literally held him down by the neck like he was his big brother and beat him up? Or is it going to be the tentative Rashad that fought ‘Little Nog’ (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) or Dan Henderson? That’s going to be the difference. If it’s the Rashad that really went after those guys, he’ll touch Ryan and Ryan will make a mistake. If he’s tentative, Ryan Bader will stay close enough and get just enough takedowns where he can win a decision.”
UFC 192 goes down this Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 at Houston’s Toyota Center.
