The term “hater” is thrown around a lot more often than it should be in the world of sports and fighting, but in the case of Rashad Evans and the legions of UFC fans who don’t respect him, the term seems like a perfect fit.

The fight business is a tough one, especially in the UFC where entertainment and competition merge, but Evans has had some memorable knockouts and fights yet still gets labeled as a boring fighter.

Some people also label him as a showboater while others disagree. Regardless of what the fans think about Evans, it seems as if almost all of them are counting him out against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida in their UFC light heavyweight title fight on Saturday, May 23 in Las Vegas at UFC 98.

A recent poll on the popular martial arts Web site Sherdog.com had Machida as a 75% to 25% predicted winner. The BetUS odds are also in Machida’s favor as he is a -210 to +160 betting favorite.

Many UFC fans have acted as if it was only a matter of time before Machida held the title belt, and now his coronation appears to be at hand, if you believe the hype that is.

Machida certainly backs that hype up with results and skills, and he is just the type of focused, inflective personality who isn’t going to loose focus.

The same can be said of Evans, whose game is rapidly evolving and who always comes out with a great game plan courtesy of renowned trainer Greg Jackson.

The Machida-Evans fight at UFC 98 will be a five-round title fight, and that should give Evans the advantage he needs to pull out the win in what should be a hotly-contested fight and fascinating matchup of styles.

The title fight format benefits Evans because Machida will need to show more aggressiveness than he has in the past to take the Light Heavyweight Title from Evans, since Evans is defending the belt.

Machida likes to wait back and elude his attacker while picking his spots and launching kicks at just the right times. He most likely can’t do that for five rounds and get the win, however.

Evans has the kind of speed, power, and knockout punching power that can take advantage of a Machida mistake if Machida slips up and strays from his usual game plan.

While Machida is one of the most talented martial artists on the planet and is more than capable of beating Evans, Evans has all the motivation in the world for this one and has only scratched the surface of his immense athletic ability.

This information is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

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