Greg Jackson joined Wednesday's Savage Dog Show. Here are some bits that didn't make Thursday's feature.
On Evans’ return to wrestling: “It's opponent specific. Some opponents are going to want to kickbox, some are going to want to take it to the ground. Thiago obviously is a very, very hard puncher and to sit mid-range and try to slug it out with him wouldn't seem healthy. I'm not saying Rashad couldn't do it. I have all the faith in the world in him; I'm just saying the smartest thing to do would be to get in tight, get him down and work in a place where Rashad is really strong.
On Evans’ issues in the final round: “I don't think it was a lack of cardio. Sometimes you just hit a wall. You set such a high pace. You're doing takedown after takedown that sometimes you hit the wall. I don't think it was a lack of cardio at all. He trained through injury as, at times, a lot of fighters do and was still able to put on a great performance in spite of that. The important thing I think is that sometimes, like it happened to Leonard Garcia, every once in a while you just hit the wall, especially when you're setting an amazing high pace like he was doing. He was just all over him and when you set that kind of pace you're always in danger of just hitting that wall and if you could still fight through it the way he did, then it's not something to be feared because you're the master of it and that's very important.”
On Silva's third-round rally: “First and foremost, I was concerned that he was going to be OK. I didn't want him to get hurt. As soon as I saw that he was all right I didn't want him to get hit with another big shot. So I wanted him to close the distance or get on his bicycle and move but not just sit there in that same range. I knew he was really tired, so I was putting my faith in him at that point that he can survive and not get caught again. I wanted him to stay in motion. I didn't want him to stay in range for another shot. I wanted him to get out or get inside so he wouldn't be right at the end of his punch because that's what really worried me.”