The UFC on Fox 2 press conference promised fireworks with three of the UFC's most colorful trash talkers on the stage. Going into the press conference most fans were probably expecting the notorious Chael Sonnen to dominate the proceedings. Or perhaps Michael Bisping who just wrapped up a many months long war of words and fists with Jason Miller at Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale. But no, it was former light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, who's established quite the body of work as a trash talker, and his opponent Phil Davis who got ugly.
Davis probably started things when he responded to a fan's question about Jon Jones saying Evans had a weak chiin. It quickly escalated with both men claiming the other would be the first to shoot for a take down to avoid punching exchanges. Evans ended things by nuclear with a tasteless joke about Davis' alma mater Penn State.
"I'ma put hands on you like dude did those kids at Penn State."
Ouch.
Evans has had several notable feuds in his UFC career, including a very lucrative beef with Quinton Jackson that was featured on the highest rated ever season of The Ultimate Fighter. The two met at UFC 114 and sold over a million pay-per-view buys.
He's also feuded extensively with current champ Jon Jones, an ex-friend and training partner. Unfortunately for the UFC, Jones and Evans' health and schedules have not aligned to put the two in the cage opposite one another. If Evans beats Davis and Jones beats Lyoto Machida at this Saturday's UFC 140, it should be on, barring another injury.
The Evans/Davis exchange outshone a game performance from Chael Sonnen who bragged openly about deliberately cheating during a college wrestling match with UFC On Fox 2 opponent Mark Munoz. Munoz had tried to attribute Sonnen's attempted knee bar (illegal in college wrestling) to "the heat of the moment," but Sonnen wouldn't have it and claimed it was a "cold, calculated act."
He also responded to a fan's suggestion that he should run for office with the bon mot, "I held public office and I went out the best way possible: in hand cuffs."
Typical of Sonnen, who did mount a brief campaign for the Oregon state legislature, his statement is false on numerous counts. He ran for office but never even won his party's nomination, much less the seat. He did however drop his campaign when he had to plead guilty for numerous felony counts.
Michael Bisping was remarkably quiet by his standards, a lapse likely due to the "classy" nature of his opponent Demian Maia.