UFC 133 Davis Vs. Evans Odds, Fight Pick

The UFC 133 card in Philadelphia will be headlined by a fight between two of the light heavyweight division's best athletes with a title shot on the line according to President Dana White of the UFC.

But there's one other factor that looms large in the Davis vs. Evans fight odds picture that could lead to a possible upset pick among many fans: Davis' wrestling.

Evans has been able to out-wrestle most of his opponents, but that is not likely to happen against "Mr. Wonderful," aka Davis, who is a fellow former Big Ten wrestler at Penn State who has better credentials.

Davis has also displayed more versatility in his ground game, showing he is capable of submitting opponents and out-positioning them with even more skill than Evans according to many observers.

Evans could be surprised when the takedowns that worked against the likes of Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin are stuffed by the ultra-strong, athletic Davis. But it is the striking game that gives Evans a lot of hope.

Rashad Evans is not the most technical striker in the UFC in terms of staying in the pocket and putting together combinations, but he has shown a much higher degree of skill in that department than the still-raw Davis. Evans has several KO's under his belt and most come via a big power shot.

He's got a head kick KO, a one-punch KO, and TKO all under his belt in the UFC so far and few fighters have had that kind of success on paper. The UFC 133 betting pick favorite Evans is favored over Davis early on because of his striking advantage.

This is where Davis is going to have a hard time making much headway. His striking game has basically been used to set up his takedowns and jiu-jitsu so far in his young UFC career and he is going to have to work extremely hard or time things perfectly to be able to take down the fellow wrestling stalwart in Evans.

It won't be easy, but Davis can get the takedown. Neither guy has worked much off their back in the UFC so it remains to be seen how they will respond should they be on the wrong end of a takedown, however.

Davis seems to be the long and more flexible athlete so he should have the tools to get back up should Evans score a takedown. Evans on the other hand has been working for years with one of the best camps in MMA so his back-centric BJJ game should be well-rounded enough in this one.

All signs point to a close fight in Philly and one that could feature a lot of inaction because the two fighters cancel each other's strengths out so well. In the end, however, Evans gets the early nod as the favorite because he is more well-rounded and savvy, and Davis' striking is fairly primitive still.

At this point, it's hard not to pick the betting odds favorite in the UFC 133 headliner between Evans and Davis. Go with Rashad Evans by unanimous decision in this one.