Evans underestimated Machida

Rashad Evans admits he underestimated Brazilian fighter Lyoto Machida after losing the light-heavyweight title to The Dragon.

Machida remains undefeated and dominated the fight against Evans.

Evans told ESPN: “I definitely underestimated him in that fight — not taking anything away from his performance because he performed great.

“I couldn’t get any sleep before the fight — I kept losing in my dreams and I never lose in my dreams.

“But I went with it, went through the motions and it felt pretty horrible.

“I was in excellent shape going into the fight, I couldn’t get tired to save my life but something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“I can’t say I wasn’t confident going into the fight because I always feel I’m going to whoop anybody — but something was different this time.

“I remember thinking halfway through the first round when I had been knocked down that I was f***ing embarrassed.

“I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s pretty good’. I knew at that moment I had to step it up and really fight.

“I remember when we were fighting I was getting hit but I felt OK.

“I was alright and then I would get back up to my feet and he’d be throwing punches at me.

“I was thinking, ‘He doesn’t even hit hard — man you hit like a…’ and next thing I knew I got knocked out.

“I couldn’t move my body and I was like, ‘F***, I lost’. I wondered what was wrong with my body because I’d never had that happen before.

“It was a very embarrassing and humbling experience and it was a big wake up call to me.”

Tags: DREAM, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans