Rashad Evans spoke with MMA Nation's Luke Thomas on the eve of UFC 135. Evans, who turns 32 on Sunday, will be in attendance at the Pepsi Center in Denver, and he is expected to step into the Octagon and challenge the winner of UFC light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Quinton Jackson.
Evans had the opportunity to visit "Rampage's" camp at the MusclePharm gym, and he was impressed with what he saw:
"I walked through the facility and I seen some of the things that he was doing and then I seen him and he was looking good, better than I've ever seen him before and I was actually really surprised.
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"A 'Rampage' that's focused is a dangerous 'Rampage' and I think that the biggest problem with Jon Jones is the fact that he's getting so overly confident and cocky that he can't get beat and all he has to do is step in the cage Saturday and collect his belt. I think that's dangerous thinking when you've got somebody in front of you who's been training hard."
As for Jones, Evans is repeating the refrain about their shared time at Greg Jackson's gym:...
"A 'Rampage' that's focused is a dangerous 'Rampage' and I think that the biggest problem with Jon Jones is the fact that he's getting so overly confident and cocky that he can't get beat and all he has to do is step in the cage Saturday and collect his belt. I think that's dangerous thinking when you've got somebody in front of you who's been training hard."
"I've seen him get pushed in practice and I've seen him be very human and not as good as he looks on TV. I've seen that there's times where he looks great in practice but there's times where I've seen him quit in practice."
Evans also thinks the SpyGate situation is messing with Jones:
"It becomes a distraction when you take it personal.
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"I think Jon Jones is taking it personally. This is his first time being in a fight where he's used his mouth like that. Normally he tries to be the humble guy and say all the right things but that's being pushed a little bit because Rampage is giving him a little bit of mouth."
Evans seems to be giving "Rampage" a better chance at winning this fight than he did earlier this week when he picked Jones to win. The off-shore sportsbooks list Jones between a 5- and 6-1 favorite....
"I think Jon Jones is taking it personally. This is his first time being in a fight where he's used his mouth like that. Normally he tries to be the humble guy and say all the right things but that's being pushed a little bit because Rampage is giving him a little bit of mouth."
