Basisphilosophie » real Shogun that I faced

LAS VEGAS -- It was the first question for Canadian Rory (Ares) MacDonald at the UFC 167 public workouts. If the third-ranked MacDonald and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre win on the weekend, will the two training partners have to fight each other. "No," said MacDonald, before pausing. "Next question?" Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen, however, will put friendship aside Saturday when they face off in the co-main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The two are no strangers to working in close quarters. When they are not fighting, they sit next to each other as TV analysts on UFC shows on Fox. After their fight, they will be reunited two weeks later to do coverage on a UFC weigh-in show. The 34-year-old Evans, a former light-heavyweight champion, is currently ranked the No. 4 contender in the 205-pound division ruled by Jon (Bones) Jones. The 36-year-old Sonnen, who has competed for the title at both 185 and 205 pounds, is ranked No. 6. Sonnen (29-13-1) is coming off an August win over former light-heavyweight champion Mauricio (Shogun) Rua. He had lost two straight title shots before that -- to Jones and then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Evans (23-3-1) beat Dan Henderson last time out in August. That followed losses to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jones. Sonnen-Evans may be a case of be careful of what you wish for. When Sonnen heard St-Pierre was headlining UFC 167, a marquee card that celebrates the UFCs 20-year anniversary, he asked to fight Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva in the co-main event. "Then I asked to be put in it with anybody but Rashad," he said. "But I ended up with Rashad, so I got half my wish." Sonnen and Evans were doing commentary work at a UFC show in Indianapolis in August when UFC president Dana White texted Sonnen to say he needed to talk to him about his next fight. "And I said as long as its at 205 and its not Rashad, Im in. And he wrote back It is Rashad. So I held the phone up to Rashad -- we were on a commercial break -- and just let him read it. And I didnt say anything. He read the whole thing." A few minutes later on the show, Sonnen had to turn to Evans to set him up for the next segment. "I could feel him sizing me up the whole rest of the show. And I felt myself doing the same thing to him." "Thats the way it goes," he added. "Its not the fight either of us wanted but were both leaders within the locker-room with the guys at the back. We cant set an example that you pick and choose your fights. You dont. Youve got to compete with everybody." Evans recalled the moment, noting the two had believed they wouldnt be pitted against each other. "Just because we have such good working chemistry (on TV) and I thought maybe they wouldnt do that just because it would bring a little bit of awkwardness. But we were both wrong." Evans says he usually sees his opponent and starts thinking "Oh, man Im going to punch him in his face." Not this time, although Evans believes that when the bell rings he will be able to "hit the switch and just make it a fight." White, who rarely sees a matchup he cant make, says Evans-Sonnen was simply the right fight at this time. The UFC boss, for the record, believes MacDonald will leave GSPs gym after this fight and start training on his own, setting the stage for an all-Canadian welterweight showdown. Both Sonnen and Evans have elite amateur wrestling credentials. Sonnen was a U.S. Olympic team alternate and NCAA all-American while Evans was a national junior college champion and NCAA all-American. Evans has landed 49 takedowns, the most in the UFC light-heavyweight division. Sonnen has 35, the most as a middleweight. Sonnen believes their wrestling skills might cancel each other out. "I anticipate that from a fans perspective, it will be a different fight than anyone has seen either of us have before," said Sonnen. "Well both have to go to some other hold ... This isnt a new spot but its a tough one. And Im going to have it figure it out on the fly," he added. Evans isnt buying it. "Lets be honest here. Chael Sonnen has one way of fighting and thats coming straight at you. It doesnt matter who you are, it doesnt matter what your game plan is. He has one game plan and thats to impose his will." Sonnen is like a blanket and looks to envelop his opponent from the get-go. And once he gets you down to the ground, he looks to punish and finish. Evans, meanwhile, combines speed and power, above a good wrestling base. Sonnen has got some intel from Henderson, his good friend and sometime training partner, on Evans. "He commented on how quick Rashad is and how difficult he is to hit, with his movement." Evans is also back on his game, after his UFC 145 title loss to Jones that saw a bitter break with his former camp at Jacksons MMA where Jones also trained. "Those guys were family for me for a long time before he (Jones) came into the picture. So it was kind of a sense of me losing a piece of my family and that hurt and that stung more than anything, than the fight itself." Evans formed his own camp, known as the Blackzilians, in Boca Raton, Fla., and says he has benefited from moving forward and ridding himself of past resentment. "No longer did I have those feelings of betrayal that I had before. I had a different understanding of the whole situation, which is the fact that sometimes in life people just have to go in different directions. And sometimes its good, and sometimes its hard to do. But at the same time, nevertheless we all have to go in (our) own direction at some point." Sonnen has also changed. At times in his career, especially when hyping up his two fights with then middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Sonnen has veered between carnival barker and pro wrestler in his on-camera persona as a fighter. But he has been a gentleman in recent times, both candid and cerebral. Asked about his first-round submission win over Rua, he was gracious in victory. "I dont think Shogun was ready to go that night. I think he was too much of a sportsman to make any excuses, unlike most guys. I think he let me have my moment. I dont think that was the real Shogun that I faced." And Sonnen played down any idea of good-natured trash-talking if he wins Saturday. "Im a pretty good winner, a pretty good loser," he said. "I understand its competition. Either way Ill shake his hand when its done and well walk away. But I wont bring it up ... bit of a low blow if I did." Same for Evans. "I wouldnt rub it in. I wouldnt overtly rub it in, I guess," he said, drawing laughs. "I wouldnt make a big deal out of it but every once in a while Id give him the look like You know what happened." Harold Landry Titans Jersey .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. 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