Evans dominates Ortiz to remain top contender
PHILADELPHIA — Just a few blocks away from the former home of Benjamin Franklin, Tito Ortiz was hoping lightning would strike twice.
Rashad Evans made sure it didn’t happen.
Evans solidified his status as the top contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division with a second-round knockout of Ortiz in the main event of UFC 133 on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in a meeting of former champions who fought to a draw in 2007.
Ortiz resurrected his career with a guillotine submission of huge favorite Ryan Bader just more than a month ago in Las Vegas for his first win since 2006. He agreed to take this fight as an injury replacement on short notice and thought for a brief moment he was close to another stunning upset when he locked in another guillotine on Evans early in the second round.
“I thought it was close for maybe a tenth of a second,” Ortiz said. “When he pushed my knee down, I thought, ‘Damn, he must have been working on defense for that.’ ”
His suspicion was correct. Evans said trainer Renzo Gracie had told him to put his head to the floor if he got caught in a guillotine similar to the one Ortiz used against Bader.
“That’s exactly what I did,” Evans said. “Once I did that, I knew I was OK. The worst thing you can do in that position is pull out, and so I moved forward, and I didn’t feel any pressure from the choke after that.”
When Evans escaped the hold, he ended up on top and quickly worked to side control. He stayed in mostly advantageous positions the rest of the round until a brief exchange where he was on his feet boxing with Ortiz, who was on his knees.
Evans crushed Ortiz with a knee to the ribs that doubled him over and caused him to cover up against the cage. A barrage of right hands followed until the fight was stopped at 4:48 of the round.
“That knee to the body really hurt,” the 36-year-old Ortiz said. “My head was telling my body to get up. My heart was telling my body to get up. My body just couldn’t do it. It pretty much shut me down.”
Evans, 31, likely will fight the winner of a September fight between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and champion Jon Jones, a former friend and teammate of Evans.
“I would prefer to get (the belt) from Jones because I would love to be the first to really beat him,” Evans said. “You think I’m cocky? I’m playing-around-and-joking-on-camera cocky. He’s go-to-sleep-praising-himself cocky. I would love to teach him a lesson, and if he gets past Rampage, I’ll get a chance to do that.”
Las Vegan Vitor Belfort had little trouble dispensing Yoshihiro Akiyama, knocking him out in the first round.
Belfort, who was coming off a knockout loss to Anderson Silva in a middleweight title fight in February, rocked Akiyama with a glancing blow that appeared to land on the top of his head. Belfort charged forward and swung wild left hands until Akiyama was out face down on the mat.
Akiyama tried a front kick, similar to the one Silva landed to beat him, and the maneuver appeared to enrage Belfort just before the final sequence.
The loss was the third in four UFC fights for the popular Japanese fighter known as “Sexyama,” who possibly will be on his way out of the organization.
Jorge Rivera might join him.
The 39-year-old middleweight lost a split decision to Costantinos Philippou. Going into the fight, Rivera feared he would be released from the UFC with a loss and said that would prompt him to quit the sport.
Welterweight Brian Ebersole stopped Dennis Hallman with a series of right elbows, but the real story was Hallman’s wardrobe. He rocked tiny blue shorts that UFC president Dana White called “an embarrassment to the UFC.”
White said he would institute a new uniform code to prevent a future copycat.
Rising welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald stopped Las Vegan Mike Pyle in the first round in the opening fight on the main card.
Chad Mendes likely maintained his spot as next in line for a featherweight title shot with a unanimous decision over Rani Yahya but might have broken his hand in the process. Alexander Gustafsson knocked out Matt Hamill in the second round of a light heavyweight bout.
Rafael Natal, Mike Brown, Johny Hendricks and Ivan Menjivar picked up decision victories on the undercard.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.