Evans wrestles for right words to slam Jackson

The former light heavyweight champion, who has a psychology degree from Michigan State, found it uncharacteristically difficult to verbalize exactly what he dislikes about Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

“It’s a lot of things. I can’t articulate them all,” Evans said of his opponent in the main event of the sold-out UFC 114 card at the MGM Grand on Saturday. “Just looking at him upsets me.”

The dispute appears to have begun when UFC officials brought then-champion Evans into the octagon after Jackson had defeated Evans’ good friend and teammate, Keith Jardine, in March 2009. The move was orchestrated to announce Jackson as the next challenger to Evans’ belt and was supposed to consist of a few harmless words between the fighters and color commentator Joe Rogan.

Instead, Evans and Jackson got nose to nose, and one of the sports’ fiercest rivalries was born.

“I kind of stood up for Jardine,” Evans said. “I saw him talking trash and I was like, ‘All right,’ and I started talking trash too. After that, things just kind of went downhill.”

Jackson was injured and could not accept the fight, leaving Evans to defend his title against Lyoto Machida, who took the belt by handing Evans the first loss of his career.

Evans and Jackson finally got a chance to square off, though it happened when the two crossed paths and nearly brawled in the crowd at UFC 100 in July, and pushing and shoving ensued. They also verbally sparred throughout a season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Words exchanged between the two on a media conference call last week brought the tensions to a boil as the fighters angrily shouted insults over one another.

Jackson has complained most about Evans being “fake” and “cocky” as well as claims of an ill-timed discussion about joining Jackson’s camp that supposedly happened between the two just after Evans defeated Hector Ramirez, a friend and training partner of Jackson’s, in 2004.

Evans, 30, thinks Jackson has been dismissive of his ability and is annoyed that Jackson, a fellow African-American, “perpetuate(s) stereotypes” of black athletes by “acting stupid” for laughs.

Evans, who rebounded from the loss to Machida to defeat Thiago Silva, said it hasn’t always been this way.

“When he first came to the UFC, I was happy because I was a fan,” he said. “I used to love watching Rampage fight, but things change.”

Evans’ feelings couldn’t have changed more since the days when he looked up to Jackson. “I’ve never wanted to put my hands on a man so bad in my life,” he said.

That type of emotion could prove to be a negative for Evans, a former college wrestler whose biggest advantage could lie in taking down Jackson and controlling position on the mat.

If he lets his anger take him into a standup slugfest with Jackson, Evans could be at a disadvantage.

“It’s not bad as long as you understand where you come from, and by that I mean not getting caught up in it so much you forget what you’re doing out there,” Evans said.

Jackson, 31, doesn’t shy away from saying the discord will serve as extra motivation even after he steps into the cage.

“I want to teach guys like this a lesson to keep (their) mouth shut when you ain’t on the same level as the next man,” Jackson said. “This is the first time I’m actually going to enjoy beating the hell out of somebody.”

The winner of the bout is scheduled to get the next shot at Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s light heavyweight belt, which Evans and Jackson each held at one point.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.