nnish grit, dont be surprised if Finland makes noise. An earlynnish grit, dont be surprised if Finland makes noise. An early | Forum

In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. Rob Gronkowski Jersey . 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Middleweights: Rashad Evans (19-5-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (18-5)Odds as of Nov. 3: Kennedy -240; Evans +200Dana Whites thoughtsI always thought Rashad was small for 205. And lets not forget, he fought on the heavyweight version of The Ultimate Fighter. I always thought he should be at 185 pounds, but he didnt want want to do it.Listen, Rashad is a super talented guy. My thing with Rashad -- the last few years I didnt know how much his head was in it. Kennedy is a tough dude who always comes forward and I think hell bring the best out of Rashad. Ive had those talks with Rashad: It doesnt seem like youre here, man. Ive just always thought hes super talented, explosive, great wrestler, knockout power, hes got all the tools.Whats at stake?Kennedy: After UFC 205, Bisping title shot or ... retirement?Kennedy is pretty confident he can beat Michael Bisping, the current UFC 185-pound champion. Probably because it hasnt been that long since he did it.For Kennedy, 37, UFC 205 will mark his first appearance since a frustrating, controversial loss to Yoel Romero in September 2014. At this point in his career, Kennedy is pretty committed to only accepting big fights. Hes also frequently out of the country, which can make booking a fight difficult.An offer to fight Evans in Madison Square Garden was just the kind of offer to bring him back into the cage, but Kennedy says that should say something about his future demands. Basically, it will take an even sweeter offer to bring him back beyond this.If [the UFC] isnt saying, Your next fight is against Bisping, who I smashed last time, then I dont even know, Kennedy said. I cant imagine the fight that would bring me in again. If it took Madison Square Garden, on the biggest fight card in MMA history, against a former light heavyweight champion, perennial contender, coming to a new weight class for the first time, in a state where they just legalized MMA -- If it took that much to get me back here in the first place, it will sure as hell take a big, shiny belt for me to stay.Not that Kennedy is overlooking Evans, whom he has trained alongside at Jackson-Wink MMA in the past and says naturally outweighs him by as much as 35 pounds. This will be Evanss first fight at 185, after years of competition at 205.He had about 20 to 30 pounds on me when he was here, and that was when he was in fight camp, Kennedy said. So, maybe a 35-pound difference naturally.Hes been a special athlete for a long time. Hes going to show up on weight on that scale and hes gonna do it smart. I always thought he was an undersized light heavyweight. Im confident hes doing it the correct way, dieting, exercising, doing the work.Evans: Once I made up my mind to continue, the doubt stopped right awayIf Evans fighting career wasnt quite in jeopardy following a first-round knockout loss in April, it was at least a bit uncertain.The 12-year veteran lasted less than two minutes in that fight before succumbing to a Glover Teixeira left hook. Afterwards he called the performance embarrassing, and said he didnt want to lose heart or hope in fighting but something had to change.One big change ahead of this fight is a 20-pound change. Evans has played with the idea of moving to middleweight in the past and hell ultimately do so here, in his 26th professional fight.Im usually counting down the days of a fight camp, waiting for that week off before the fight. Evans said. This camp, Ive been telling myself to go easy during some of these days, I feel so good. I feel healthy. Ive cleaned out my diet. Im really happy with everything and Im walking around everywhere with my shirt off.Once I made up my mind this was something I was going to continue, the doubt stopped right away. Those were my raw feelings at the time, after the loss. When I stepped in the Octagon, I didnt feel the connection I normally did. A lot of it was just bringing things in to the cage from my personal life. Ive made peace with a lot of areas and its allowed me to just focus on fighting.In addition to turning heads in south Florida, Evans says his new, leaner physique will allow him to do something he hasnt been able to do for years competing at a higher weight -- impose his strong wrestling skills on opponents.A lot of these guys were cutting from 230. As Im getting older and lighter, I was going in at 210 pounds. The impact was a lot different and I finally said, You know what? These guys are just way bigger. I havent had the strength to grab someone and really impose my will on them. Thats when I decided to make the drop.Key statsEvans: 19-5-1 (14-5-1 UFC); middleweight debutEvans: 50 takedowns in UFC career, eighth-most among active UFC fightersKennedy: 18-5 (3-1 UFC); first fight since Sep 2014Kennedy: 14 of 18 wins by stoppage (7 by knockout, 7 by submission)BreakdownIts easy to talk yourself into an Evans win here. Kennedy has been away for two years, but more than that, Evans still seems like hes one right hand or left hook away from old magic.The unfortunate truth is that minus one dominant performance against Chael Sonnen three years ago, Evans hasnt looked right in a while. Whats interesting about that is that Sonnen is a middleweight, and if you listen to Evanss comments, he believes thats noteworthy. At light heavy, Evans was undersized. At middleweight, maybe he will look like that power wrestler his career was built on.If that is to be the case though, this seems like a tough matchup for his middleweight entrance. Kennedy will not be an easy target for offensive wrestling, and even though Evans hits harder, Kennedys chin is probably in better shape at this point. Evans has been a little gun-shy in recent years and the weight cut is a bit of an unknown. Early success with his wrestling would be a huge confidence boost.Prediction: Kennedy by decision.You make the call: Andre Tippett Womens Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Drew Bledsoe Youth Jersey ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. http:///...h-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Finland should be considered the dark horse of the World Cup of Hockey and a tough team to eliminate. In almost every international event, Finland seems to find a way to get into the final four, and this team includes many of the players who are coming off a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.This roster is loaded with talent, skill, size, grit and solid goaltending. The Finns wont get pushed around by the North American teams; theyll push back. Finland could be among the top finishers in Toronto.How Finland could winGoaltending will be a key factor in determining the teams success. The tandem of Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask will be relied on to handle the netminding duties. Theres no clear-cut No. 1, but the two proved crucial in Sochi. Based on the pretournament, it appears likely that Rinne will get the majority of the playing time early in the round-robin.The biggest issue for Finland could be scoring goals, so its solid goaltending will need to steal games to advance. Its going to be interesting to watch the pro debut of Finnish prospect?Patrik Laine, the No. 2 overall pick in Junes draft.?The 18-year-old winger is the complete package and has high-end skill. At 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, hes big and strong. He can skate. Hes a pure goal scorer and has a great shot. Hes also very confident in his ability. Laine wasnt too productive during the pretournament, but hell need to be during round-robin play for Finland to win.While most observers believe Team Sweden has the best overall defensive unit in the tournament, Finlands blue line is solid, too. Rasmus Ristolainen is evolving into a poor mans Shea Weber. Ristolainen has an incredible shot and is active in the offense. His presence is critiical on the power play. New England Patriots Jerseys. ow Finland could loseIts simple: If the Finns dont score, they wont win. The biggest question entering the tournament was whether Finland could generate enough offense. If it struggles in that department, it will put a strain on the defense and goaltending to shut down the opposition.Some have suggested that Finland doesnt have enough grit -- but thats not the case. The Finns need contributions from all four lines. If a player such as?Jori Lehtera, a classic Finnish two-way forward who can move the puck and has a nasty streak to his game, doesnt score goals, it could be a short tournament for Finland.From a defensive standpoint, opposing teams could expose the youth on Finlands blue line. Esa Lindell is a strong puck-moving defenseman, but he tends to handle the puck too much in his own end, and -- if hes facing a strong forecheck -- could run into trouble and turn it over. If he doesnt make quick decisions, it could hurt Finlands chances. And if Rinne and Rask are not at their best, Finland will be in trouble.What to watch for: Bite from BarksovGiven this teams solid mix of veteran leadership and young talent, along with its typical Finnish grit, dont be surprised if Finland makes noise. An early test against a highly explosive Team North America team in the round-robin will be a good indicator of what to expect from Finland. Top-line center Aleksander Barkov is on the verge of becoming a potential superstar in the NHL, and the tournament should be his jumping off point. It will also be good for Laines development that hes playing with Barkov. ' ' '