Mauricio Shogun Rua scored a huge knockout win over
Lyoto Machida to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in UFC 113.
Rashad Evans scored a huge win over
Rampage Jackson in their grudge match in UFC 114 to earn a title shot against
Mauricio Shogun Rua. So far no date has been set, but the anticipation for a
Shogun Rua vs Rashad Evans UFC fight is already in the air.
Shogun Rua was really impressive in his win over
Lyoto Machida, scoring a huge KO.
Rashad Evans was in pretty good shape against a much slower
Rampage Jackson, but really wasn't quite as impressive, considering that
Rampage Jackson was able to rock
Rashad Evans and almost even scored a knockout in the third round. However,
Rashad Evans showed some resilience and was able to recover to finish the fight, and even score some take downs. Undoubtedly, it was
Rashad Evans who was in better shape and conditioning, showing his ability to withstand the onslaught of
Rampage Jackson.
However, when it comes time to fight
Shogun Rua, it might be a different story. has shown the ability to last five championships rounds as witnessed in his first attempt to go up against
Lyoto Machida when Machida won a controversial decision. Of course,
Shogun Rua has also shown that he has some huge knock out power, and the ability to withstand tough hits.
Rashad Evans also has some of that knock out power as seen in the way he's KOed
Chuck Liddell and
Forest Griffin. But that hasn't happened in his recent fights. Meanwhile,
Shogun Rua has KOed his last three opponents, including
Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell and
Lyoto Machida. In fact, most of Shogun Rua's wins in his mixed martial arts career has been via KO or TKO.
Certainly, it'll be an interesting match up with the explosive wrestling take downs of Rashad Evans and the KO power and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu of
Shogun Rua. For the record - I'm cheering for
Shogun Rua to knock out
Rashad Evans. To put it straight - I just don't like
Rashad Evans.
The Asian Poker Tour has come up with a leaderboard rankings based on performances in APT accredited events. Corresponding points were given to those who finished in the money for the APT events, and the top finishers in the leaderboard rankings would eventually win some prizes. The top 50 players in town for the APT Main Event also get to play a special tournament prior to the event in order to win a $2,700 seat to the APT Main Event. So far, I'm ranked 101st in the Asian Poker Tour. I earned my points by making the money in the Resorts World Manila Inaugural Poker Tournament, where I placed 24th in a field of 269 players. It was a good tournament run for me, except for one crucial mistake near the bubble where I misread my opponent's hand, and called with a mid-pair, costing almost my entire stack. I survived the bubble with 28 players to go, and managed to double up enough to place 24th. It could've been deeper except for that mistake, and I was really disappointed, but no use crying over it. With that place, I managed to get 400 points, and I was ranked 88 in the APT leaderboard rankings. I had an opportunity to increase my place in the APT rankings when I played at the The Poker Circuit's Wet N'Wild tournament played in the Wild Aces Poker Sports Club in Angeles City, Pampanga. I managed to make day 2 with a healthy stack, but sadly went out in the first level of Day 2 with my two pair getting outdrawn to the higher two pair of the monster stack. Since I didnt' make the money, I failed to earn points, and my ranking slipped to 101. The other APT events were held in Macau, and sadly I didn't have the time to make the trip from Manila to Macau to compete. I'm hoping that a few more tournaments are held in Manila prior to the APT Main Event. The Asian Poker Tour main event will be held on August 23-29, 2010 at the Resorts World Manila with a buy-in of $2500 +$250. The APT Philippines Main Event promises a guaranteed prize of $2 Million dollars.
