The last several months, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (above, right) has presented his case to the media like a court-appointed attorney. All of the evidence has shown that he has no shot at winning his case (fight), but if he can show a reasonable doubt, he might have a chance.

Jonathan Dwight Jones vs. Rashad Anton Evans will take place at UFC 145 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta on April 21.

All of the physical evidence is overwhelming and in favor for Mr. Jones. The champion, Jon Jones (left), has destroyed every top contender and former champion he has faced in the octagon.

Case in point:

Mauricio Rua was the champion at the time he fought Jones. Many considered him one of the top light heavyweights ever to fight in the UFC. Let it be shown that he was TKO'd due to strikes for the first time in his 24-fight career.

Quinton Jackson came into the fight with no injuries or no excuses, but left the cage after submitting for the first time since 2001. Jackson had fought 27 fights since he last lost by submission. Let the evidence show that Jackson was a common opponent of Mr. Evans and Mr. Jones.

An injured Jackson went the distance against Evans in one of the most disappointing, over-hyped main events in UFC history. Both fighters engaged in a war of words on The Ultimate Fighter 10 reality series. Each week, their banter overshadowed the fighters. The ratings were great, the exchanges were memorable, but their fight itself was a disappointment. I equate it to saving your biggest firework for the finale on the Fourth of July and lighting it, only for it to be a dud.

Lyoto Machida was another common opponent of both fighters. Let’s look at exhibit 'A,' which shows that Mr. Evans held the light heavyweight championship belt less than 3 years ago. At UFC 98, in walked undefeated Lyoto Machida, a karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter from Brazil. In less than nine minutes, Mr. Evans would taste defeat for the first time in his career when he was KO'd (the hell out) by Machida.

In Mr. Jones' last fight, he fought Machida with the championship belt on the line. But this time Machida could only dream of winning. He was put to sleep by Mr. Jones in little over nine minutes by a devastating guillotine choke in the second round. Let the evidence show that this was the first time Machida had ever submitted in his career.

Before we award Mr. Jones, let’s see what Mr. Evans has as his defense.

His key piece of evidence is that he held Jon Jones down in practice one day and he wouldn’t let him escape and Mr. Jones was “crying” because he wouldn’t let him up.

So, Mr. Evans held Mr. Jones down in practice.

Do you have a response, Mr. Jones?

In the words of Allen Iverson, “We're in here talking about practice. I mean listen, we're talking about practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game -- we're talking about practice. Not a game. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We're talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We're talking about practice.”

Make your case for the winner.  

And with a comparison to Sonnen, it’s only right to have her fight the female equivalent to Sonnen’s next opponent -- Anderson Silva. That is Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (10-1-1), the best pound-for-pound women’s fighter in the world.

The only hold-up in this fight is that Santos is serving a year-long suspension after testing positive for an anabolic steroid. She isn’t due back in the cage until early 2013, so a fight around this time next year would work. A bout of this magnitude would only elevate women’s MMA even more in the eyes of hardcore fans.

Here are some of the comparisons between Cyborg and Silva, and the comparisons of Rousey and  Sonnen.

Cyborg and Silva both started their fighting careers at the Chute Boxe Academy. They are both Brazilians and are considered the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Both haven’t lost a fight in more than six years.

Rousey and Sonnen both have Olympic ties; Rousey competed at the Olympics and Sonnen was an Olympic alternate. They are both from the West Coast, and they display lots of charisma in front of the camera. Both are considered by many to be the best in MMA at promoting and selling a fight. I thought no one could play a heel (bad guy) like Sonnen, until I heard Rousey before and after the Tate fight.

A Rousey vs. Santos title fight, along with maybe a men’s title fight, could easily be a pay-per-view card for Strikeforce.

But first, Rousey would first need to submit her next opponent, Sarah Kaufman.

With a 1-year suspension, Cyborg has plenty of time to come down in weight.

Who would like to see Rousey take on Cyborg for the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight championship belt?

Undefeated Ronda Rousey (5-0, 3-0 Strikeforce) submitted former champion Miesha Tate (12-3, 4-2 Strikeforce) in the first round to win the women’s bantamweight championship at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Strikeforce “Tate vs. Rousey” was the main-event fight of the evening of an action-packed card.

For several months leading up to the fight, Rousey and Tate gave promotional interviews to sell the fight. At times the back-and-forth trash talking seemed to become personal and not to just sell tickets. Even at the start of the fight the referee gave the final instructions to both fighters and he ended by saying, “I understand that we are not touching gloves.” 

The fight started with Tate connecting on several punches to the face of her opponent. Rousey counted by taking Tate down and gaining side control. Rousey them transitioned to her first armbar submission but Tate escaped. 

She was able to gain the back of Rousey and attempt a rear-naked choke. After a brief scramble both fighters made it back on their feet. Tate connected on three punches and Rousey grabbed her and display her world-class judo by executing a hip toss.

After a tough bout most fighters show respect to their opponent by shaking their hand. But not in this case, Rousey expressed her feelings about Tate, “At the weigh-in when she got into my face and I pushed her back, and she said ‘I should be fined for head butting her,’ I thought if you are going to try an act hard then back it up.”

In the co-main event, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson (19-4, 9-3 Strikeforce) won a unanimous decision over KJ Noons (11-5, 3-3 Strikeforce) by out=wrestling him for three rounds. For the 15 minutes of the fight, Thomson was able to keep the fight on the ground for 10 minutes and 28 seconds. When asked about his performance, he wasn’t too pleased, “It’s was (expletive),” he said. “How else can you explain it, it was (expletive).”

But when asked about fighting lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez next, he said, “I’m going back to the way I used to train, and if I get hurt, I get hurt. I’m going to go back to training super hard and super aggressive for 12 weeks. I’m going to make sure that I whoop Gilbert’s (expletive).” 

Below are the full undercard results:

Lumumba Sayers won by submission (guillotine choke) over Scott Smith.  

Ronaldo Souza won by submission (arm triangle) over Bristol Marunde.

Sarah Kaufman won via majority decision over Alexis Davis.  

Roger Bowling won by TKO over Brandon Saling.

Pat Healy won by submission (arm triangle) over Caros Fodor.  

Ryan Couture won by TKO over Conor Heun.

After connecting on a combination of punches, Alves tried a double-leg takedown in the waning seconds of the third round. Kampmann secured a guillotine choke on the Brazilian and rolled on top, and Alves tapped out with 48 seconds left in the bout.

“I was behind in there. I’ll be honest, Thiago was getting me with some good shots, and I wanted to take him down,” Kampmann said. “I was walking into too many punches, and that was not a part of the game plan. It’s a good thing I have a good chin and can eat some shots.”

For his performance, Kampmann earned the “Submission of the Night” and he also secured his hold as one of the top 10 welterweights in the UFC. He said afterwards, “I felt that I really had to finish the fight, and it wouldn’t do me any good to keep it standing. I just squeezed, because I knew that was my window, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

The UFC held its first-ever flyweight (125 lbs.) tournament with four of the top flyweights in the world competing to become the UFC flyweight champion. But at the end of the night only Joseph Benavidez had moved on in the tournament.

Benavidez (16-2, UFC 3-0) showed the newly formed flyweight division that he is the heavy favorite to become its first champion. The Team Alpha Male fighter took on veteran Japanese fighter Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-5-6, UFC 0-1), in the second tournament bout of the evening.

The former Shooto champion Urushitani is known for his kicks, but is was his kicking that got him in trouble during the match. Urushitani attempted to kick, but Benavidez countered with a big right hook that knocked Urushitani to the canvas.

“I knew he threw a lot of kicks, and that’s a perfect time to counter somebody,” Benavidez said.

Benavidez pounded his opponent with several more punches before the referee stepped in and stopped the bout after 11 seconds into the second round. With the TKO, Benavidez showed fans that flyweight division fighters could have knockout power as well. 

"I bring great power to the 135-pound division, so now that I’m hitting guys my size (125 pounds) it’s just the sign of things to come,” Benavidez said.

In the other flyweight tournament final, Demetrious “Might Mouse” Johnson (14-2-1, UFC 2-1-1) was declared the winner at the end of a three-round battle against Ian “Uncle Creepy “ McCall (11-2-1, UFC 0-0-1).

But just like the last two UFC events, controversy was the theme for this fight. After the decision for Johnson, it was later revealed that the judge made an error, resulting in a change from a majority win to a majority draw.

McCall was considered the top-ranked fighter in the tournament, but that didn’t stop Johnson from pressing the action for the first two rounds. The third round is where the controversy took place because McCall dominated the round and one judge scored it a 10-8 round for McCall. That would have made the bout a majority draw. The commission incorrectly calculated the scorecard and gave the decision to Johnson.

The rule that was in place for the flyweight tournament in case of a draw was to have an additional round to determine the winner.

Now the two flyweights will meet in a rematch in April to see who will advance to the tournament to fight Benavidez.

The miscalculation of the scores was embarrassing, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this was an awesome fight. Both guys earned “Fight of the Night” bonuses for the effort.

Below are the full undercard results:

Former WEC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson put on a dominating performance at UFC 144 and took a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) over former champion Frankie Edgar to win the UFC lightweight title. Henderson (16-2, 4-0 UFC) pressured Edgar (14-2-1, 9-2-1 UFC) throughout the fight and landed several big leg kicks in every round in the main event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Lately it seems that every UFC main event decision has come with controversy. UFC president Dana White along with many fans believes Edgar won the fight. “I had it even going into the last round and I give the last round to Frankie (Edgar)," White said.

I disagree. I thought Henderson put on a championship performance and clearly looked like the better fighter for four of the five rounds.

I spoke to Henderson a day before the fight and asked him what sets him apart from Edgar. He said, “I’m as confident as any fighter on the planet. I feel as though I have the advantage everywhere. Whether it’s boxing or wrestling, or cardio or anything.”

It was clear to me after the fight that Henderson had the better cardio and he out-boxed, wrestled and kicked his way to victory over Edgar. It also was Henderson's octagon aggression that set him apart and the deciding factor in the win. Henderson landed the most-devastating kicks and finishes. Henderson landed the biggest hit of the fight with an upkick that dropped the champion.

Despite the fight having a controversial decision, I was glad to hear after the fight that White did not call for a rematch. Edgar has had a rematch against his last two opponents, Gray Maynard and BJ Penn.

Henderson and Edgar shared “Fight of the Night” honors.

In the co-main event, a confident Ryan Bader (14-2, 7-2 UFC) out-fought a slow and overweight fighter in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-10, 7-4 UFC). Ryan won a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), and clearly looked like the better fighter throughout. Rampage's one bright spot was in the second round when he lifted Bader into the air and slammed him. It was Jackson’s only damaging move throughout the fight. Bader was the faster and more complete fighter.

I was surprised at the end of the fight that Rampage didn’t get on the microphone with ringside commentator Joe Rogan and announce his retirement. But leading up to the fight, Rampage let it be known that he really disliked talking to Rogan. Veteran fighters BJ Penn and Nick Diaz both announced their retirement after losses in the octagon. It just felt like Rampage would call it quits in the country he had some of his most memorable moments of his career.

It was also fitting the Bader would receive 20 percent of Rampage's purse, for Rampage not making weight. Several days before the fight UFC's White asked Rampage about his weight and he said, “You don’t want to know,” and White said, “I didn’t ask.”

Since the A-Team movie that Rampage starred in, he really hasn’t been the same fighter.

After the fight, Jackson said to mmafights.com that he hurt his knee during training and took the fight because he didn't want to disappoint his Japanese fans.

Below are the full undercard results:

"The following athletes were tested: Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Fabricio Werdum, Josh Koscheck, Renan Barao, Ed Herman, Dustin Poirier, Max Hollaway, Matt Riddle, Henry Martinez, Edwin Figueroa, Alex Caceres, Matt Brown, Chris Cope, Rafael Natal, Michael Kuiper, Stephen Thompson and Dan Stittgen. All results received thus far have been negative, except Mr. Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites. A complaint for disciplinary action against Mr. Diaz has been filed."

This is Diaz's second positive test. He first tested positive in 2007 for marijuana when he fought Takanori Gomi at Pride 33, also in Las Vegas. Diaz's submission win over Gomi was overturned because of the positive test.

Had Diaz won his interim welterweight title fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 143 this past weekend, that victory would have been overturned as well.

Diaz might have suspected the test would come back positive, and that might have been his reason for not accepting a rematch with Condit.

Condit hadn’t lost in Las Vegas in five fights and Diaz has won 11 fights in a row, with his last loss coming in 2007.

Like most of Diaz’s fights, the stare-down before the opening bell is an event in and of itself.

As referee Steve Mazzagatti gave the final instructions for the fight, both fighters began butting foreheads and had to be separated by security in the cage.

Starting out, Diaz was the aggressor, but it was Condit who landed the effective leg kicks. Diaz, at 6 feet, had never fought a fighter who was taller than the 6-foot-2 Condit with equivalent reach (76 inches).

Diaz didn't punch as hard as Condit, but the accumulation of punches often won his fights. In his last match against BJ Penn, Diaz broke the record for the most punches in a fight: more than 200 significant punches that landed on his opponent.

In Rounds 1 through 4, Condit used leg kicks, quick punches and an even temperament to frustrate Diaz. By his own admission, Diaz has said he is low on patience. So Condit's corner knew that the fighter needed to be patient and to frustrate Diaz to get the win.

In between rounds, Diaz’s corner never instructed him to change his game plan, believing that Diaz’s cardio would eventually wear out his opponent. Condit was winning the rounds by striking and landing the most kicks throughout the fight. The one area on the score card that Diaz held was for octagon aggression -- he kept coming forward throughout the fight.

By the fifth round, Diaz realizes that he had someone who could finally match him in cardio, strength and movement.

It wasn’t until the final minute that Diaz decided to take Condit down and end the fight. Condit was able to hold on to the end and win by unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, 49–46) to become the new UFC interim welterweight champion.

 “It’s pretty surreal," Condit said after the win. "I couldn’t have done it without my coaches and teammates. They prepared me for this fight and now I walk away with the victory.”

The biggest loser of the night may be the UFC, because it would have benefited from a larger pay-per-view if Nick Diaz had won. His next opponent would have been UFC champion Georges St. Pierre, with whom he has exchanged words. Diaz called out St. Pierre after one of his fights, and the champion has let it be known that he was rooting for Diaz in this fight so that he could destroy him in the cage.

After the fight, Diaz -- much like his last opponent, BJ Penn -- announced after the fight that he was retiring.

“I think that I’m done with this MMA. It’s been great out here, I had a good career,” Diaz said. “You guys pay me way too much [money], but I don’t think I’m going to get enough to keep on in this.”

I think the one thing that would get Diaz back in the cage is if St. Pierre calls out Diaz after he beats Condit for the belt. That would make for good drama and a big payday for all.

Below are the full undercard results:
 

( Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune / January 28, 2012 )

The Ultimate Fighting Championship blew into Chicago for UFC on Fox and it was Rashad Evans facing Phil Davis in a light-heavyweight bout at the United Center. The last time the UFC had held an event in Illinois was UFC 90 in 2008.

In the main event, Evans (22-1-1, 12-1-1 UFC) won a unanimous decision over Davis (9-1, 5-1 UFC). The five-round bout was scored 50-45. The loss was the first for Davis in his 10-fight career, but more surprisingly was the way in which he lost the fight, by being outwrestled.  

Davis was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American at Penn State, so being outwrestled had to be a blow to his game plan.

Evans also believes it was his experience in the cage that helped him win the decision. "I believe that he (Davis) needs a couple of more years before his stand up is better than mine," Evans said.

This is a battle of former training partners under Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting. Evans left Jackson’s gym after it became apparent that the two would eventually have to fight for the title.

On MMAjunkies.com, Evans said, "I want to put the rivalry to bed and more importantly get the chance to get my belt back," he said. "I think I can beat Jon Jones, and I see areas where I can capitalize."

Sonnen knew he had take the fight to the canvas and score takedowns to win the bout. But to his dismay the Brit Bisping found his way back on his feet throughout the fight. Often using the cage to get back on his feet and in the standing position throughout the first and second rounds.

In the third round, Sonnen tried to keep the bout in the center of the cage, so that Bisping couldn’t use the cage to stand back up. With the win, Sonnen secures a rematch with the middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Never a loss for words, Sonnen believes Silva is a myth created by the media. “The myth the media has created, has created nothing short of jealousy for me. You’re finding out why jealousy is one of the 'Seven Deadly Sins,' ” he said. “I’m jealous of him and it has created an anger and I’m going to bring him down and I make no apology.”

Sonnen delivered a message to the fans, “He’s the champion, but I’m the best.”

An earlier version of this article had the name of Submission Fighting's Greg Jackson incorrect.

The full undercard results:    

Lavar Johnson won by KO (Punches) over Joey Beltran at 4:24 of the first round.    

Michael Johnson won by unanimous decision over Shane Roller.

Cub Swanson won by TKO (Punches) over George Roop at 2:22 of the second round. 

Evan Dunham won by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) over Nik Lentz at 5:00 of the second round.    

Chris Weidan won by unanimous decision over Demian Maia.

Bisping was already scheduled for fight on the card that night against Demian Maia. Bisping's biggest concern now will be his fighting strategy. He was preparing to fight a jiu-jitsu fighter and now will be taking on a world-class wrestler in Sonnen.

"UFC on FOX 2: Rashad Evans versus Phil Davis" takes place at the United Center in Chicago.