Konan
02-10-2013, 08:49 PM
UFC lightweight Evan Dunham (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) admits his UFC 156 fight with Gleison Tibau wasn't the best performance of his career. That said, he takes offense to a writer's claim that he would "probably get murdered" by Rafael dos Anjos and would love the chance to prove him wrong.
"I tell you who I would like to fight: Rafael dos Anjos," Dunham recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I read an interview saying I had no business fighting a guy like that and that he's at a whole different level.
"Bleacher Report put out something – I'm not very happy with that guy, but I don't let it get to me."
Yet it's easy to see it does get to the Oregon native. There was certainly no shame in his win, grinding out a hard-fought split decision over a massive Gleison Tibau, who Dunham said felt like a tree trunk when he tried unsuccessfully to take the fight to the floor. Still, Dunham admits his primary attack was unfortunately ineffective.
"My mindset going into the fight was to put him on his ass and submit him," Dunham said. "But as we saw, that didn't work out too well. Plan B was to go to the hands.
"He's a very durable guy. I was trying to put him away, and that didn't happen."
Tibau proved capable in his takedown defense, but he tired as the fight wore on. Dunham kept active and pushed until the final bell, sealing the narrow win. It didn't provide any material for his career highlight film, but Dunham was secretly satisfied with the win. While he only begrudgingly discussed his condition, Dunham admitted he battled several pre-fight injuries that nearly saw him pull out of the fight.
"I don't want to go into the whole thing, but … this camp was by far the shortest and least productive – not by choice, obviously," Dunham said. "There were several things that came up within this fight. I don't want to go into it all, but it was by far my worst camp ever. "
So perhaps that's why Dunham is a little emotional about the criticism of his performance. After all, with 10 UFC fights under his belt and three "Fight of the Night" bonuses, Dunham has proven he belongs in the UFC.
Now, in an effort to silence one Internet writer, Dunham is ready to take on dos Anjos.
"I read it real quick, but it said I didn't have any business fighting a guy like Rafael dos Anjos," Dunham said. "I wanted to remind him that two of his losses are two guys I beat. I would love to go fight that kid and put the hurt him just so I could rub it in that other dude's face."
"I tell you who I would like to fight: Rafael dos Anjos," Dunham recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I read an interview saying I had no business fighting a guy like that and that he's at a whole different level.
"Bleacher Report put out something – I'm not very happy with that guy, but I don't let it get to me."
Yet it's easy to see it does get to the Oregon native. There was certainly no shame in his win, grinding out a hard-fought split decision over a massive Gleison Tibau, who Dunham said felt like a tree trunk when he tried unsuccessfully to take the fight to the floor. Still, Dunham admits his primary attack was unfortunately ineffective.
"My mindset going into the fight was to put him on his ass and submit him," Dunham said. "But as we saw, that didn't work out too well. Plan B was to go to the hands.
"He's a very durable guy. I was trying to put him away, and that didn't happen."
Tibau proved capable in his takedown defense, but he tired as the fight wore on. Dunham kept active and pushed until the final bell, sealing the narrow win. It didn't provide any material for his career highlight film, but Dunham was secretly satisfied with the win. While he only begrudgingly discussed his condition, Dunham admitted he battled several pre-fight injuries that nearly saw him pull out of the fight.
"I don't want to go into the whole thing, but … this camp was by far the shortest and least productive – not by choice, obviously," Dunham said. "There were several things that came up within this fight. I don't want to go into it all, but it was by far my worst camp ever. "
So perhaps that's why Dunham is a little emotional about the criticism of his performance. After all, with 10 UFC fights under his belt and three "Fight of the Night" bonuses, Dunham has proven he belongs in the UFC.
Now, in an effort to silence one Internet writer, Dunham is ready to take on dos Anjos.
"I read it real quick, but it said I didn't have any business fighting a guy like Rafael dos Anjos," Dunham said. "I wanted to remind him that two of his losses are two guys I beat. I would love to go fight that kid and put the hurt him just so I could rub it in that other dude's face."