Will
09-18-2006, 04:45 PM
We’ve seen it many times before: a fighter racing around or sitting on the top of the Octagon, using his hands to trace the imaginary outline of a championship belt around his waist as he screams for a chance at Ultimate Fighting Championship gold.
It typically starts happening after a guy racks up two or three consecutive crowd-pleasing stoppages. After all, fighters tend to be a very confident breed of human, believing that they can conquer any challenge, no matter how big or bold.
Fans love it, too. And why shouldn’t they? It adds hype, creates drama, and generally helps build interest for a fight, just like when guys begin calling each other out, tossing around juicy sound bites or referring to the title as “my belt” well before they hear referee “Big” John McCarthy signal the start of a five-round championship fight.
On Saturday night, Jason Lambert seeks to extend his UFC record to a perfect 4-0, giving him 23 wins as a professional. And he gets that opportunity against the heavyweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter Season Two,” Rashad Evans—a name recognized by the millions of viewers who watch the hit reality show on Spike TV.
In other words, this is the perfect opportunity for Lambert to market himself to the masses—talk a little trash to heighten the interest of the millions of UFC fans who are less familiar with him than the other top contenders in the 205-pound division.
“[Evans] certainly has a big name after winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ so this is a great opportunity for me to build my career,” he said. “But this is really just another fight, and he is just another opponent. I try not to look at it any differently than that.”
Huh? That isn’t exactly Tito Ortiz-esque. Actually, it doesn’t even rival the bantering that permeates the air at senior citizen bingo parlors. If anything, it is a gross understatement of what is at stake for the San Diego-based fighter.
Then again, not every fighter possesses the microphone skills or electric personality of a Tito Ortiz. A few of them prefer to take a more workman-like approach to the game, bringing the proverbial lunch pail to work everyday rather than a quote book.
Lambert is one of those guys, choosing to focus his energy on winning the fight rather than promoting it. He will, however, admit to the significance of Saturday’s fight when pressed.
“This is a huge fight for both of us,” he acknowledged. “It will really dictate where we fall in the division. A lot of doors will open up for the winner. I think we both realize that.”
For Lambert, those doors include much more lucrative fights against the division’s established elite—guys like Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and possibly even UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. That isn’t to say that Evans isn’t of that caliber, because a win over Lambert jumps him up the rankings in similar fashion.
With so much on the line, Lambert predicts that both fighters will leave everything in the eight-sided cage at UFC 63.
“The fight will be a series of mini wars,” he surmised. “Rashad fights with tremendous heart, just like I do. We both want to push the pace.
“I don’t think either one of us is going to quit in there, so it should be a great fight. But I’m going to try to finish the fight if at all possible. I never want a fight to go to the judges’ scorecards. That is very important to me because you never know how they will score it.”
Submission, knockout or decision, Lambert will take a win over Evans any way that he can get it. And he will do whatever is necessary—within the rules, of course—to secure that victory and entertain the fans in the process. Just don’t expect that entertainment to come in the form of pre-fight banter or brazenly calling out someone in the post-fight interview.
“I need to stay active and keep winning, but I feel like one of the established guys in the division. Still, this is a big fight for me, for both of us. Like I said, a win opens a lot of doors.”
Yes, it does.
Credit: Michael DiSanto
It typically starts happening after a guy racks up two or three consecutive crowd-pleasing stoppages. After all, fighters tend to be a very confident breed of human, believing that they can conquer any challenge, no matter how big or bold.
Fans love it, too. And why shouldn’t they? It adds hype, creates drama, and generally helps build interest for a fight, just like when guys begin calling each other out, tossing around juicy sound bites or referring to the title as “my belt” well before they hear referee “Big” John McCarthy signal the start of a five-round championship fight.
On Saturday night, Jason Lambert seeks to extend his UFC record to a perfect 4-0, giving him 23 wins as a professional. And he gets that opportunity against the heavyweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter Season Two,” Rashad Evans—a name recognized by the millions of viewers who watch the hit reality show on Spike TV.
In other words, this is the perfect opportunity for Lambert to market himself to the masses—talk a little trash to heighten the interest of the millions of UFC fans who are less familiar with him than the other top contenders in the 205-pound division.
“[Evans] certainly has a big name after winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ so this is a great opportunity for me to build my career,” he said. “But this is really just another fight, and he is just another opponent. I try not to look at it any differently than that.”
Huh? That isn’t exactly Tito Ortiz-esque. Actually, it doesn’t even rival the bantering that permeates the air at senior citizen bingo parlors. If anything, it is a gross understatement of what is at stake for the San Diego-based fighter.
Then again, not every fighter possesses the microphone skills or electric personality of a Tito Ortiz. A few of them prefer to take a more workman-like approach to the game, bringing the proverbial lunch pail to work everyday rather than a quote book.
Lambert is one of those guys, choosing to focus his energy on winning the fight rather than promoting it. He will, however, admit to the significance of Saturday’s fight when pressed.
“This is a huge fight for both of us,” he acknowledged. “It will really dictate where we fall in the division. A lot of doors will open up for the winner. I think we both realize that.”
For Lambert, those doors include much more lucrative fights against the division’s established elite—guys like Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and possibly even UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. That isn’t to say that Evans isn’t of that caliber, because a win over Lambert jumps him up the rankings in similar fashion.
With so much on the line, Lambert predicts that both fighters will leave everything in the eight-sided cage at UFC 63.
“The fight will be a series of mini wars,” he surmised. “Rashad fights with tremendous heart, just like I do. We both want to push the pace.
“I don’t think either one of us is going to quit in there, so it should be a great fight. But I’m going to try to finish the fight if at all possible. I never want a fight to go to the judges’ scorecards. That is very important to me because you never know how they will score it.”
Submission, knockout or decision, Lambert will take a win over Evans any way that he can get it. And he will do whatever is necessary—within the rules, of course—to secure that victory and entertain the fans in the process. Just don’t expect that entertainment to come in the form of pre-fight banter or brazenly calling out someone in the post-fight interview.
“I need to stay active and keep winning, but I feel like one of the established guys in the division. Still, this is a big fight for me, for both of us. Like I said, a win opens a lot of doors.”
Yes, it does.
Credit: Michael DiSanto