"I'm expecting a quick and explosive fight. I don't think he's too busy with his strikes. He's a very technical fighter. He's not going to throw punches in bunches, but when he does throw, he tries to make them count. I'm looking for him to try to explode a lot and see what he can get. That's the kind of fight I think it's going to be," stated UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans as he talked about his upcoming clash this weekend with fellow undefeated fighter Lyoto Machida. Check out what he had to say about Machida, the fight, his thoughts on Chuck Liddell and much more.

PC: How are you physically and how has this camp been?

RE: Physically, I'm very healthy. My body feels good and camp went excellent. All of my teammates came out for this one: Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Joey Villasenor, Dave Loiseau, Andre Gusmao, Carlos Gracie and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. Everybody came through man, so it was really good.

PC: When you're training with a stable of guys like that, that has to make fight night a little easier.

RE: It does because you say to yourself, "This dude may be good, but I don't think he's better than such and such in this area!" Whatever attributes he has, I like to think my training partners are better than him in certain areas, you know?

PC: I always tell you it seems like I was just watching you on TUF yesterday, but Saturday will be your 10th fight with the UFC. Do you still get nervous before these fights?

RE: Ah man, I still get nervous, but my mind gets nervous. I try to control it a little bit, but your mind starts to wander because of the anxiety gap between the fight and waiting to fight. That's what gets you. Having the patience of just waiting drives you crazy.

PC: A lot of people are expecting a measured pace and a very methodical fight. I expect fireworks in this fight for some reason. What type of fight are you expecting from Lyoto?

RE: I'm expecting a quick and explosive fight. I don't think he's too busy with his strikes. He's a very technical fighter. He's not going to throw punches in bunches, but when he does throw, he tries to make them count. I'm looking for him to try to explode a lot and see what he can get. That's the kind of fight I think it's going to be.

PC: Just like you, he's undefeated and anytime you watch an undefeated fighter, it's tough to find weaknesses and holes in their game. You don't have to say what, but have you found any weaknesses in Machida's game?

RE: Yeah, of course. I've definitely found some weaknesses. When you're watching Lyoto, he's very technical, but at the same time, he's a fighter much like myself that gets better with every fight and continues to improve. Just like he said he's found weaknesses in my game, I've definitely found some in his.

PC: This will be your first title defense. Have you made any changes with this being a title defense or have you just been doing basically what you always do?

RE: Everything is pretty much the same to be honest. It's a title defense, but my teammates and my coach will be the first to tell me it's just another fight and that's what it is. You want to go in there and you want to fight to the best of your abilities and you don't want to lose, but at the same time, you don't want to make a fight bigger than what it is. I do this every single day; day in and day out. This is my job and it's what I love to do, but why make it much harder than that? This is no different than going to practice and sparring with your partners except they're going to try to take your head off every once in awhile. But that happens in practice too sometimes (laughing), so it's pretty much the same thing with a bigger crowd watching.

PC: I remember everyone thought guys like Wanderlei could beat Machida because they would make him fight, but I've always said that style is perfect for him. I think it will take a mirror image of his style to beat him, which you have, similar movement. Do you think him seeing your kind of movement for the first time inside the Octagon could possibly be the difference in this fight?

RE: Yeah, I definitely think so. I mean, he trains with Anderson Silva and Anderson Silva does have some great movement, but at the same time, Anderson Silva don't move like how I move. I think for him to have to adjust to my speed is going to be difficult for him. Seeing it on camera is one thing, but seeing it in front of you is different and he will have to make that adjustment. With a style like his, he's able to counterstrike really well because guys are plodding forward at him. They make his technique look that much better. I plan on making his technique look real ugly on Saturday!

PC: Being that you are a fan of boxing and watched it growing up, you've seen your fair share of great counter punches. How important is it for you not to be over aggressive and be countered on Saturday?

RE: I'm not an overly aggressive fighter anyway, you know? Anybody that watches me says the same thing. I received the same criticism that Lyoto has been receiving. We're pretty much mirror images of each other when it comes to that. We're both conservative fighters. We think we're very smart fighters. We don't go out there and rush things; we let it come to us and then let go.

PC: You feel like this is a bigger challenge than a fight with Rampage. Why is that?

RE: Yeah! You know what? Rampage don't use all of the tools that he used before or things that he may be capable of. Rampage knows he's a hard hitter, so that's what he pretty much does is goes out there and tries to knock people out. And that's a problem when you become a power puncher because you just try to take people out. Sometimes you just look for that punch too long and it becomes a problem. You never get to the point where you're doing other things because you're relying on the power punch too much.

PC: I also saw where you said you would love to fight Anderson Silva in the future. At this point, is your mindset to just fight the best?

RE: That's it man! You get one life Percy and in that one life, I want to go out there and have a blast man. Win, lose or draw, I want to go out there and fight the best competition out there. I think I'm the best, but I gotta prove it. I want to prove it to myself. I want to go out there and fight the best. I want to do it. This is my 10th fight in the UFC and if I win, I will be tied with Anderson Silva for the most wins in the UFC with 9 wins.

PC: I think this could be the fight that finally earns you respect because you already validated yourself.

RE: You know what? I don't know about the respect and everything. They always come up with something (laughing). I try not to seek approval from other people because whenever you do, there is always something out there. If I go out there and I beat Machida, which I know I'm going to do, then they're going to say, "You know what, Machida was overrated." They'll start downgrading Machida. They'll say he's not worthy like they did Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin and whoever else I beat. It will always be something.

PC: Ten fights in the UFC and you are the champion now. I asked you right after you won the title, now I'll ask you again. Is it still like a dream to you or have you come to grips with people saying, "What's up Champ?"

RE: It's still like a dream, I can't lie to you. Sometimes I wake up and I'm like, "Damn, that's me! Everybody wants to fight me. I'm the champion!" It's a blessing because I remember when I was first getting into the sport and seeing Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, St. Pierre, Matt Hughes and all of those great champions before me and I was like, "Damn man, that must be a feeling to be the champion." I never thought that I would achieve that level. I always hoped I would, but those dudes were just amazing. Now to be a champion and achieve that goal is surreal. I have a long way to go to be as great of a champion as those guys, but it's still like a dream that I've come this far.

PC: I know you were a fan of Chuck Liddell way before you were an opponent. What would you like to see "The Iceman" do next?

RE: I would like him to find closure in the sport with himself. I think it's very hard when someone has to walk away from the sport they love. He does it for the love more than anybody. He does it like De La Hoya did it. He trains and does it even when he doesn't have to, you know? You gotta respect somebody like that and with that said, you gotta kind of let them have their own process to say they don't want to fight anymore. Just because you're not capable of fighting the way you used to or you're not as quick or fast does not mean your desire has gone away. He still has that desire. I just want him to do what he's always done and that's set the standard in other areas of the sport to help us reach the level like he has so far. It has to be his decision. He's a fighter at heart. But as a fan, I don't want to see him lose like that. Chuck Liddell set the precedent of being untouchable. It's like seeing Superman get his ass whopped. It's like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! That can't happen. One time is too much!" to see a normal man get his ass whopped, they can dust it off and fight again, but not Superman. He don't get his ass whooped.

PC: I was feeling the KRS-1, Step Into My World, for the Griffin fight. What kind of entrance do you have for us for this one?

RE: Ah man, that's going to be a surprise, but it's definitely going to get you hyped up!

PC: No doubt. As always, good luck my man. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

RE: I just would like to thank everybody that will be tuning in and watching me fight Saturday. Whether you are a fan or not, you will be after UFC 98!