The 2009 promise of ‘black-on-black crime’ in the fight between Rampage and Rashad Evans single-handedly got me to buy the UFC 114 PPV. While the phrase implies something other than an MMA fight (obviously a gimmick of sorts), it gave the fight an subversive feel; like something cooler than usual was going to happen. Unfortunately, no highlight-reel KO was in the cards that night, and the PPV ended with a ‘black-on-black’ show of respect instead. I’m aware that marketing can be deceiving (*cough* James Toney vs. Randy Couture *cough*), but I believed the hatred was real. In fact, it’s still real to me, dammit. Regardless how Rashad feels about Rampage or Jon Jones, he seems rather objective and particular while he dissects the UFC 135 title match between the two fighters. It’s an interesting perspective on what might turn out to be the key fight in determining Rashad’s gameplan for his title shot at UFC 145 on April 21. [Source]
