Rashad Evans and the Business of MMA
October 9, 2009
5thround.com reported that Rashad Evans turned down a fight with Randy Couture in order to pursue a matchup with Thiago Silva:
“That was a matchup that I didn’t think was good for me,” Evans recently told MMAFanHouse. “He’s 46 years old and coming off back-to-back losses as a heavyweight, and I feel like beating him wouldn’t move me up the rankings as a light heavyweight. Plus, I would have had to take that fight on short notice, in England, and it felt like I’m being punished because Rampage took a movie.
Payout Perspective:
Rashad Evans is one of the best 205 lbs. fighters in the world but in passing on Randy he betrays a deep misunderstanding of what moves MMA business.
Seriously, if you’re offered a fight with Randy Couture, it’s a no-brainer. I don’t care if he has five losses in a row: it’s RANDY COUTURE! You take the fight.
I don’t even know how to respond to the idea that a win over Thiago Silva would be a greater benefit to one’s career than a win over the Natural.
The only rational basis for Evans to have turned down the Couture fight is if Evans – for whatever reason — believed he wouldn’t be ready for Randy in December.
If Evans’s thought process is genuinely along the lines of “a win over Randy means less than a win over Thiago,” well, then, Rashad’s been receiving terrible career counsel (or perhaps has tweaked his nipples one too many times).
A win over Randy Couture might very well have directly led to another title shot; a win over Thiago Silva, on the other hand, is probably insufficient to take Evans there by itself.
Rashad’s loss has become Brandon Vera’s gain.
20 Responses to “Rashad Evans and the Business of MMA”
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He could have also had the title of beating two legends of the sport
Haha, I was thinking that, too, that the likeliest outcome if Rashad fought Randy (on Spike!) would be his putting to sleep two of the sport’s greatest legends.
The likely reason for Rashad not taking a fight with Randy is that he didn’t feel he had enough time to prepare before Nov. 14, as stated above (if I were a fighter I would probably want a full 8 weeks to prepare for a legend like Randy), but don’t discount the element of revenge as well. Thiago Silva just knocked out Rashad’s bosom buddy Keith Jardine, and we have already seen how Rashad acted towards Rampage after he beat Jardine (I don’t buy that there was any animosity between the two before this occured). The lack of prep time for Randy, combined with the opportunity to avenge a teammate’s loss, as well as what Rashad has perceived as hostility from Thiagop Silva (recently on “Inside MMA” Rashad said that Thiago shot him a predatory look when he saw him after Thiago’s UFC 102 fight with Jardine), and there are three reasons right there why Rashad would prefer this bout. However, I agree that it is folly for Rashad to argue the reasoning behind his decision to derive from business considerations. Mr. Wolf has excellent points in this regard.
However, one does have to look at the flip side of the coin. There is great risk to a high profile LHW fighter like Rashad Evans in taking a bout with Couture. Though Couture gave a valiant effort at UFC 102, he was defeated for the second time in a row by a younger opponent. I’m as tired as anybody of the age questions surrounding Couture, but these arguments will now be as strong as they’ve ever been, so if Rashad at 30 years old was beaten by Randy, he is worried that it would greatly damage his stock, which is a legitimate concern. However, I do agree that this line of thinking would be inherently flawed, as a loss to Thiago Silva, who is more likely to end a fight with a knockout, would be much more devastating to Rashad’s image than a loss to a legend like Couture. Point-counterpoint, but I believe that the thought of actually losing to Thiago Silva hasn’t even crossed Rashad’s mind. If it had, he probably would’ve taken the fight with Couture. In other words, in Rashad’s mind its “either fight Randy and maybe lose, or beat Thiago Silva” and take a more measured step back towards the title. Also, he must have the Rampage fight in the back of his mind, since nobody really believes that fight will never happen. A loss to Couture would ruin the chances of that fight for him, while he feels extremely confident that he will beat Thiago Silva and still be in a position to challenge Rampage.
I believe the card was set in the UK and I believe MMAPayout.com has already discussed the stigma associated with fighting in the UK (typically a free on Spike TV event) Maybe Rashaad just wanted more money by fighting in the US? Your take? Also, can anyone tell me how much money Tapout spends sponsoring TUF with all the clothes, water, and bedding?
Mr. Wolf,
I believe, respectfully, that you’re writing from the perspective of a fan. It’s pretty clear that you’re criticizing Evans’ choice from a perspective that doesn’t take into consideration the things that actual fight people consider.
“A win over Randy Couture might very well have directly led to another title shot; a win over Thiago Silva, on the other hand, is probably insufficient to take Evans there by itself.”
Those “might” and “may” statements are devoid of any value. If I eat my Wheaties, it MIGHT lead to a lower risk of male breast cancer.
The truth is that a win over Couture means virtually nothing for Evans at this point. It might make a few fans happy to have seen the fight, but it does not advance Evans in any meaningful way. A loss is devastating.
Flash back to around 2001 or so: Outside of the monetary windfall, what would a win over Mike Tyson have done for Vitali Klitschko at that point in time?
Thanks, and have a good one. This is all just grist for the mill.
Jason
The MMA payout article about the UK stigma was because of PPV cuts. Rashad as far as i know dont get a cut of the PPVs. So we would get his contracted pay regardless of the venue.
I think it simply comes down to match ups as why Evans turned down Randy. Randy has been effected by his age and has been for a while. He is slower and cant take the punches he used to. But that dont mean he cant win fights with good match ups. Rashad should be able to KO randy. But there is always that chance it turns into a Wrestling match and maybe Rashad cant win. After all he was a D1 Wrestler with a poor record. Evans may think the wrestling of Randy might not come into play in MMA. But so did Tito. So there is some what of a risk for Evans to fight Randy. With little title to train for a wrestler based guy.
With Silva, Evan was already facing a striker anyway. Evans has a HUGE speed advantage and Silva still has a lot of question marks in his game. If he does get in trouble he has the wrestling advantage to take the fight to the ground. Silva is kind of over rated. His win over Jardine was taylormade for him. Jardine gets killed early in every fight(Wandy, Houston, Wilson Gouvea, etc) If he survives he puts up a fight. But if not he gets killed and the winner looks like a stud. Evans wont stand in one spot and be an easy target.
Business wise it wasnt a good decision. But given Evans and Greg Jacksons history of being very methodical in fight breakdowns and the match up process. I believe thats what this come down too.
Peter, C’MON!?!
Did you seriously just compare Randy Couture to Mike Tyson? That is a profound insult to Couture.
Sad.
@Peter
I think you are misunderstanding the point. While to hardcore fans, Rashad has a lot of credibility, he has not yet connected with a mainstream audience. Beating Randy would go a long ways to words “putting him over” (pro wrestling parlance seems unavoidable here) with casual fans, and it would be naive to suggest that the UFC doesn’t consider popularity when doling out title shots. While Randy may be coming off two losses in a row, Thiago Silva has a very recent and very devasting loss to the reigning champ, so he isn’t getting another shot any time soon.
You can criticize the author’s use of speculative language, but you haven’t actually offered a counter-explanation as to exactly how a win over Thiago would send him towards a title shot, other than a vague allusion to ” the things actual fight people consider.”
No doubt, Thiago is probably a more credible opponent, and hats off to Rashad for not slumming for a likely easier road against an aging veteran, but he also seems to be missing the point of the game, which is all about building one’s own star persona, and beating a legend is the surest way to do that.
maybe he wants to avenge his teammate keith jardine. or perhaps he (rightly) decided that a loss to couture would be way worse than a loss to silva. i wouldn’t be so hasty to jump on him for declining the randy fight.
Are you kidding me ? No one wants to see Rashad vs couture. I’m pretty sure no one wants to see couture vs vera or vs anyone else. It’s clear the ufc is just trying to get his contract over with. Also, does anyone want to see Tito vs Griffin ? Maybe the casual fan. They need to step up their ppv cards because they are getting pretty bad.
“It’s clear the ufc is just trying to get his contract over with.”
Barry Franklin
The UFC just recently, after his loss to Nog, signed Randy to a multi fight deal. believe 6 fights. So that excuse dont hold water.
He simply didn’t think he could beat Couture.
Really, I think it all depends where you put Couture.
This is the point of argument: Is Couture relevant to current fighters seeking contender status?
If he is not, then Couture has become the legend and huge name that can bump up weak cards and drive up PPV buys (or tv viewers) and his usefulness is more valued by the organization than the individual fighters themselves.
Ultimately, what David has done is criticize Rashad’s strategy.
Only Rashad know his reasons, no matter what he says to the press.
We can sit back and make it relevant to our reasonings and emotional reactions.
“I dont care….You take the fight.”
Most commenters her have left well reasoned arguments as to Rashad’s motivations. Most are plausible.
I think the secondary argument here is with Wolf himself.
Simply put, I disagree.
Reason: I think Couture’s stock amounst fighters has gone down. Legend or not. He’s 16-10. Legend or not, he’s yesterday’s news.
If any of these points have been made already – i apologize in advance b/c i feel the need to reinstate them once again. Although i think David Wolf makes a decent argument for why Rashad’s decline to fight Couture was a bad for “business” and maybe for his career in the long run, I KNOW it’s a good move to take on Silva as far as challenging himself to prove again (or for the first time to others) that he is a top 205 fighter. Regardless of the fact that it’s good career-wise to have a Couture win under your belt – when all is said and done, do you all really think that COUTURE IS MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN THIAGO SILVA AT THIS VERY MOMENT IN THE 205 DIVISION? If so, then I believe you need to get back in your time machine and head back one or two years. YES, Randy Couture is still a great competitor even in his age blah blah; it’s amazing he can still hang with anyone he fights… But can he beat any modern day top contenders? No. And regardless of what the answer to that same question may be for Thiago Silva as of now, we have to see Silva LOSE OTHER THAN WHEN HE FOUGHT MACHIDA AND HE IS STILL YOUNG AND NOT ANYWHERE NEAR RETIREMENT.
Personally, I’m glad Rashad took this fight b/c it shows that REGARDLESS OF BUSINESS and NOTORIETY and QUICKEST WAY TO A TITLE SHOT- he picked the MORE CHALLENGING FIGHTER AT THE TIME. And that is something I respect greatly in an organization where title shots and match-ups can be extremely subjective and circumstantial.
As always, I appreciate all the comments, even the ones implying I’m more fan than journalist.
I’m thrilled that the article has sparked such a level of debate and interest. Totally unexpected from my end.
I still believe the only good business reason for rejecting the fight is if Rashad believed he had a good chance of losing to Randy in December (again for whatever reason).
People seem to forget that Evans was already training for a striker. It is just a smart move to replace the striker with another. More when you are at currently the most highly regarded gym when it comes to game planning and training for a specific style opponent. Evans already put in the training for a striker and it would be wasted to when he would have to change to a complete wrestling based training in a short amount of time. Hoping that time would be enough to not have regrets if for some reason he lost.
Skill match up wise both Randy and Silva have holes for Evans to exploit. So its best to take the style you already planned on facing.
@David. A lot of comments is not necessarily a good thing. You should be looking at the quality of comments and hoping to generate opinions that demonstrate a minimum level of intelligence.
Barry Franklin’s ignorance of Couture’s contract extension is not only embarrassing to himself, but the status of MMAPayout. Like it or not, your readers are a reflection of you. Because he spouted off without even a simple Google search, Mr. Franklin should be banned immediately for wasting our time. Oh, and crun, you don’t need all the capital letters to make your point.
I have another theory as to why Rashad turned down Coutture in favor of Silva.
Unfortunately Rashad has been a “Heel” excuse my use of a wrestling term. Since his original stint on the Ultimate Fighter, that tide is currently turning for him as he is showing quite well as a coach on TUF.
Fighting Couture is a no win situation as far as help Rashad grow in his popularity. If he beats Couture many will not like him the same way he didn’t gain in popularity after the huge knock out of Liddell. Silva on the other hand would probably benefit Eashad it developing a larger fan base.
Just my 2 cents for what it is worth.
Number crunching (almost) alone points out a fathomable reason for Rashad to sign with Thiago over Randy. Rashad is (according to UFC) 18-1-1 (sherdog.com has him at 13-1-1), either way, 1 loss, by way of Machida KO. Thiago is 14-1, 1 loss, by way of Machida KO. Machida (officially) is the current 205 champ. Randy is 16-10, 45 years old. Age is less of a factor when it comes to Couture, regardless, still a factor. He is 13-7 in UFC since his debut in 1997. That is a little under a 50% win ratio. Not very good when considering his standing as a top contender in UFC, even in MMA in general. Evans vs Silva could, very reasonably, see the winner getting a shot at the winner of Machida vs Rua 2. Evans vs Couture, not a chance in hell.
Machida got his shot with a win over Silva (with a bit of help from a Rampage win and a Rampage injury) either way, his shot came right after his win over Silva, which by default puts Silva somewhere on the top contender board. Rashad is coming off of a championship fight with Machida. Rashad is obviously still right near the top of the contender board. Thus, a title shot coming out of this fight is not unreasonable. Again, Evans vs Couture producing a title shot. Not a chance in hell. As stated in an earlier comment, Evans’ win over Liddell did not help his popularity at all. Why would a win over Couture be any different? The only difference would be that his Liddell win got him a title shot. A win over Liddell now wouldn’t even get him a title shot and Liddell’s win ratio is obviously way better then Couture’s. Beating Randy now would not have the same positive effect it would have 4 or 5 years ago. Legend or not. Liddell already picked that apple when it was still good.
Case and point, fighting Silva is a great move for Evans if he is looking for another title shot. It even comes with extras: possibly avenging Jardine’s loss, possibly adding his name to Silva’s very small loss column (as opposed to Coutures extensive one). Evans vs Silva is by no means main event material but it does stand a very good chance of producing a championship contender in the 205 lb divison. It doesn’t come down to who Rashad thinks he can or cannot win against, it comes down to if he wins, which win would get him a title shot faster.