Billy’s Long Week

Evangelista has had better weeks.

Some weeks just suck, but I’m sure Billy Evangelista is going to happy to put this one behind him and look forward to a week off, or perhaps of training.

Evangelista recieved his first career loss courtesy of Herb Dean more than his opponent Mike Aina. Dean broke up the action after Evangelista landed a knee that appeared to everyone (myself included) to land on the head of Aina, and Aina went down for the count. Of course, a fight stopped as the result of an illegal strike must be scored a disqualification if that strike leaves the fighter unable to continue, so Evangelista had the bout he had been dominating taken away. But I’ll get back to that in a bit, as it’s well worth talking about.

The day before, at the weigh ins for that bout, Evangelista missed weight. Weighing in a pound and a half over the lightweight limit, 157.5, Evangelista left a small stain on his credibility with the few MMA fans who might have been looking at him as a prospect. Of course, there’s no question about whether he can make weight, but there’s certainly an open question about his commitment and there’s got to be some frustration about not taking this bout seriously, which is often an issue for fighters making weight in bouts where they’re a heavy favorite (especially if they train while living at home, and not out of a camp).

This must have been embarrassing for Evangelista, but he is still the huge fan favorite here in Fresno, recieving massive cheers perhaps surpassed only by fellow native “Big” Lavar Johnson (who put on the performance of the night, brief as it was). While Evangelista’s popularity in Fresno was never at risk, his future on the national scene was released from his control. Even a debatable loss is considered by some a loss, and the fact that it’s an open question is going to hurt him when he tries to make a case that he’s one of the top guys in the world. All of a sudden, a rematch with Aina to assert his dominance becomes necessary (though it may also become a big draw). Certainly, it was not the outcome Evangelista wanted.

The truth is, this DQ really is controversial, and for good reason. Evangelista didn’t land the shot cleanly on the head, or on the head at all. He landed the knee on the arm of Aina, and the arm collided into the head. Of course, the knee was intended to land on the head, and if Aina hadn’t attempted to block it, his win would have been perfectly legitimate and safe from appeals, but instead he did the smart thing and protected his face.

The question of whether or not this knee was grounds for a DQ will come up, though the stoppage by Dean was good in my opinion (as it was clear Aina couldn’t continue). Still, the debate will have some impact on how Evangelista is percieved from here on out.

All that said, any press is good press, and the fact that the Evangelista fight is worth talking about is an upside for Billy, and 9-1 is still a respectable record, even if it’s not as respected, so as Billy looks to work his way into larger Strikeforce cards, he’ll have some history that people are aware of, and that might be a silver lining in this otherwise cloudstricken week for Evangelista.