"Rampage wants to be the only one. I don't know if he wants to be the only brotha. I don't know what it is. I don't know, he's just very competitive with me. I think besides all of that and the fact that he feels threatened by me, a lot happened when we got into each others face at the UFC when he fought Jardine. After that, we got into it on our own time. We got into it on our own personal time. I think that just took it one step further. Not only did we get into it in front of the cameras, but then we got into it when nobody was there; just me and him. That like solidified itÂ… I just know it would bother me to lose to this dude," stated former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans as he talked about his highly-anticipated clash with another former UFC light heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Check out what he had to say about the fight, coaching on the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter and much more.
PC: It's good to have you back on the site. How have you been doing?
RE: Man, everything has been going good man. I just finished doing the show not too long ago and now I'm just putting in some family time right now.
PC: After winning TUF years ago, did you ever see yourself coaching on it?
RE: No, I didn't. The thought never ever crossed my mind. The thought never came into my mind.
PC: We know Rashad Evans the fighter can definitely throw down, but how is Rashad the coach?
RE: I think Rashad the coach was pretty good as well. One thing I did as a coach was I humbled myself a lot so I could fulfill the guys needs, you know what I'm saying? Having the experience of being on the show, I was able to coach from a different perspective because I knew what I would have liked to have as far as coaching when I was on the show.
PC: You and Rampage had a run-in at UFC 100. What was that all about and can we expect to see some run-ins on this season of TUF?
RE: You know what, during the taping of the show, it was pretty much like that every single day. We got into it every time we faced each other, you know? There were days where it was cool, but for the most part, there were just aggravating situations just waiting to happen every single time we got near each other. It got challenging for both of us to keep our hands off of each other (laughing). He don't like me and I don't like him, so it got really hard for me not to tee off on him and I'm sure he felt the same way.
PC: It's funny because when I first started talking to you, he was one of your favorite fighters. What happened?
RE: Right! It's just getting to know somebody. I think Rampage wants to be the only one. I don't know if he wants to be the only brotha. I don't know what it is. I don't know, he's just very competitive with me. I think besides all of that and the fact that he feels threatened by me, a lot happened when we got into each others face at the UFC when he fought Jardine. After that, we got into it on our own time. We got into it on our own personal time. I think that just took it one step further. Not only did we get into it in front of the cameras, but then we got into it when nobody was there; just me and him. That like solidified it, you know?
PC: You were an undersized heavyweight on the show. Now from what I understand, they have all of these giants. How different is that from when you won when the only giant was Brad Imes?
RE: It's a lot different man. A lot of these guys were enormous. I tell you what, if I had to go on the show and these guys were as big as they were on this season, I don't know if I would have been able to do it. These guys are massive, like 250-260 and they're 6'8. And they're not just big, but they're muscular and ripped. And these guys are professional athletes and they are athletes (laughing). They're not some wannabe fighters these guys can move.
PC: How have you been doing since the Machida fight and how much are you looking forward to getting back in the cage to try and erase that memory?
RE: After the Machida fight, it was hard for me to tell you the truth. Because never having lost before and then having to deal with it and having it happen in such dramatic fashion was very painful. It was very painful to deal with. But my saving grace was the show. I started thinking, after I lost, that I wasn't even worthy enough and kind of embarrassed even. I just wanted to hide and not say anything, but the show actually helped me to get over it and helped me find the very thing that made me love fighting in the first place. It actually made me become a better fighter because coaching the guys made me have to realize every little thing that I do and all of my skill. And not only that, but I have to break down what I do to them and bring down what they do to show them what they're doing wrong, so coaching just opened up another game for me. it made me think and see things a little bit differently and it helped me to open my eyes and deal with the fact that I got my ass whooped. I got whooped through and through. I'm going to win again and all that, but I gotta lick my wounds right now and I gotta take this one on the chin.
PC: You always told me you knew that it would happen one day, but you didn't think Machida would be the guy to do it. If you could do it over again tomorrow, what would you do differently? Would you change your approach or your gameplan or anything?
RE: It was a lot of different things. For the most part, I believe it was me just not fighting to my capabilities. And then second of all, I feel like I didn't have a great gameplan going into the fight. I didn't execute my gameplanÂ…you know, I just felt like I needed a different gameplan for a guy like Machida. If I would have known that going into the fight, would things have happened differently? I don't know! I can't take nothing away from the guy. He did a phenomenal job, he's the new champ and he deserves all the respect in the world. But I feel like I definitely cheated myself. If I had to fight him again, I would definitely do a lot of things different.
PC: You have taken your first loss. I think the way fighters bounce back from their first loss is a character tester. How will Rashad Evans bounce back from his first defeat?
RE: Truthfully, only time holds that answer, but right now, I feel like I will bounce back just fine. I dealt with it and a lot of the times, when fighters lose, they point fingers and blame people. But all of those things don't allow you to look at the real issue and that's themselves. And that's one thing that I have done. I haven't took myself out of the equation of figuring out what I need to do differently to win or win that fight again. I know there are some things that went wrong for me going into that fight from a mental perspective. With that alone, that's a mistake that I will not make again. Whether that leads me to be the best fighter in the world again, I don't know, but I can tell you that I will have a different mentality going into that fight.
PC: You're coming off of a lot of new adversities. This was your first loss and your first time being knocked out. Could you think of a better opponent than Rampage for your first fight back?
RE: Yeah! That's a very good fight for me because, like you said, the motivation will be there. He's a fighter that will make you train on the days you don't want to train or when you're 6 weeks into camp and you have 2 more weeks left to go and you're tired of practicing the same things over and over again and tired of waking up. I mean, all of the things that make training camp monotonous, this is the kind of opponent that pushes you past those days. Just because you're so highly motivated and just because you know that you can lose to anybody else in the world, but not lose to this dude right here (laughing), you know what I'm saying? You better not lose to this dude right here. I don't know man. I just know it would bother me to lose to this dude.
PC: Do you think your movement will give Rampage problems? Also, I know you have stated before that Rampage is just a boxer now. Do you also think that's another advantage that you have?
RE: I think that's definitely one of my big advantages. I think that one of his biggest problems is that he's fallen in love with his power. He counts on his power. He's like Tyson after he got rid of Kevin Rooney. He just relied on his power because he knew he had it. Well that's what Rampage is doing. He's not as well-rounded as he was when he fought for Pride.
PC: Thanks for your time man. I will let you enjoy your day with your family. Is there anything you want to say in closing to your fans?
RE: I would just like to thank all of my fans out there for supporting me. It's never easy being a fan of mine, so thanks. Keep supporting me and we will be back on top!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]