In part two of this exclusive interview, talented artist Evan Shoman shares more of his thoughts on some of the biggest names in mixed martial arts as he talks about upcoming fights like Couture vs. Gonzaga, Jackson vs. Henderson, Liddell vs. Jardine and much more. You don't want to miss what he had to say as Evan gives the inside scoop on fighters he's become friends with through his artwork.

PC: Speaking of middleweights, what did you think of Paulo Filho in the WEC?

ES: I heard some things about that guy.

PC: Really, like what?

ES: I heard he's one of the biggest prima donnas there is out there. I tell you what, him winning that fight and them ranking him #2 in the world and Mayhem beating Miura last, I think they are going to throw those two in the mix together. I think Jason will beat him actually.

PC: When a fighter is hot and you have a print of him, do the sales reflect that?

ES: Oh yeah! I'll tell you, I sold about 25 prints of Rampage within about 12 hours of him knocking Chuck out. After the Eastman fight, a lot of people still didn't know who he was and one fight later, he knocks Chuck out and he's at that elite level in the fan's mind. True MMA guys knew who he was, you know?

PC: Any other guys coming up for us to look out for?

ES: I went to this King of the Cage fight and they had two guys, Junior Kling fought Cody Bollinger, and you will hear about both of these guys. It might not be for another three or four years, because like I said, we're up on an Indian Resort watching them fight. It's best to catch those guys early before the ego sets in.

PC: Can you tell me a few fighters you don't really care for?

ES: Matt Hughes. Fuck Matt Hughes, you could put that in print! It would be different with him if he just said he's an asshole, but to come on TV and say that he is a Christian and good old country boy and then be a straight asshole is ridiculous. No doubt about it, he can fight, but I just think some fighters have his number, like George St. Pierre. The second BJ Penn fight was one of the most dominating performances I've seen until he got injured. You hear Dana on television, and obviously because Matt's their golden goose, but he's like, "BJ was doing really well until he gassed out and Matt took advantage like the champion he was." No, BJ separated his rib. You really mean to tell me you think BJ is going to get caught in a crucifix by Matt Hughes? You know how retarded BJ's Jiu Jitsu is? I'm friends with BJ's cousin John Lee and BJ thought he got out of it and thought he would just hold on and catch Matt in a submission, but he could barely walk. A lot of people don't know that BJ separated his rib. Most people don't know that Phil Baroni had such a bad tear in his groin that in the first 15 seconds of the fight against Frank Shamrock, his intestines were coming out of his leg. People don't hear that stuff, you know? It happens. Chuck's first fight with Rampage, he had a torn quad muscle. I don't know if you heard what happened after he beat Tito, but he whispered something to Dana and you could read Dana's lips saying, "You're such a fucking asshole!" Chuck had just told Dana that he had a torn MCL for that fight.

PC: Who are your favorite fighters to watch?

ES: I have a few. Genki Sudo, please come back, Mayhem, Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Tyson Griffin, Ed Ratcliff and Cub Swanson. I love watching all of those guys fight and obviously I haven't named anybody that just lay and pray. I love guys that just come forward. The only exception is Vitor. Hopefully now that his sister's killer has been brought to justice, his head will get right. He's one of those fighters that if you were a fan of his back in the day, you're still a fan. I also like Jon Fitch. I think that guy is sick. I like to watch the guys that come to fight. Those are my favorites.

PC: I know you said your first Rampage is the drawing you like the least, but what's your favorite drawing?

ES: Not Rampage (laughing). You mean like one that I finished and looked at like, "Damn!" Probably the second Chuck Liddell I did, where he has the belt over his shoulder and he's punching Randy in the face. That is easily my favorite because right around that time, all of these MMA artists were coming out of the woodworks like, "Check me out, I'm awesome." I'm like, this is not happening. I had to put something up that was going to blow everyone's mind. I even put out a bulletin saying, "I can assure you that this is going to blow your mind." A lot of them faded a bit after that. It felt like people were coming after me. I did hear some of these guys talking trash, like putting me out of business, let's gang up on him. I'm like, "Dude, I draw!" You really mean to tell me that you want to draw better than me so that you can take food off of my family's plate. Get out of hear. I put everything into that one. Since then, I feel like I found a new niche. I get the question in a bunch of interviews; I can tell you who's hot in MMA and who's not. I have not sold one Chuck print since he got beat. I'm selling a ton of Dan Henderson drawings and people don't really know him in the states yet, but they look at it like, "Hey he's fighting Rampage and he has 2 belts; he has to be good." If he beats Rampage, it's going to be ridiculous. Right now, Dan could go to his kids soccer games and not be bothered.

PC: That just shows you how new MMA is to some people.

ES: If at the next UFC, Dana White gets in the ring and says, "I just signed this new lightweight, you are not going to believe this, Takanori Gomi." He walks in the ring and people will be like, "Who?" He is the number one lightweight in the world.

PC: Let me get your opinion on some upcoming fights. First we'll start with Couture/Gonzaga?

ES: When you count Randy out, he wins and he dominates. When you think Randy is unbeatable and he can't be beat, he loses. Unfortunately, I think Gonzaga is going to beat him for that reason; not because he's more skillful. I think Randy is the man and Gonzaga has nothing to offer, but I still think he's still going to win because Randy will be the first 50-year-old to come out of retirement and win the belt. I want to pick Randy pounding him out, but I don't want to pick that fight, but if I had to, I'm going to have to pick Gonzaga by decision. You know what…Randy by pounding him out in the second round. I just can't go against him.

PC: Rampage/Henderson?

ES: Two guys that I like very much, but I'm going to pick Dan. The guys never been knocked out. Dan loses to decisions or submissions. He's lost submissions to guys like Nogueira. Dan does not get knocked out. Rampage will rock him and Dan will just keep coming and that will wear Rampage out. I've seen Rampage fight Sean Gray and not really have the gas to finish. I don't think Rampage will have the gas tank and then it's the obvious MMA math that Wanderlei killed him and Dan knocked Wanderlei out. Dan is such a hard matchup because he's so wild and skilled at the same time. I'll take Dan by TKO, fourth round.

PC: Din Thomas/Kenny Florian?

ES: Another great fight. Damn man, why you asking me all these hard ones? I like both of those guys fighting man. Kenny and Din are both so tough. I'm going to go with Din though. Din Thomas by decision.

PC: Liddell/Jardine, that might be a little easier for you?

ES: Yeah, Chuck's going to knock him out in the first round. Jardine's fights always come by way of decision with the exception of Forrest.

PC: Cub Swanson/Jens Pulver?

ES: Cub Swanson by second round TKO.

PC: George St-Pierre/Josh Koscheck?

ES: First round knockout for GSP. Koscheck better watch out. I think Koscheck and Diego are so excited about showing their hands off that they forgot what got them there.

PC: Evan, your work is amazing my man. Keep the great drawings coming and I will be looking forward to listening to your radio show.

ES: Thanks man! I want to say, I think Forrest Griffin will surprise a lot of people against Shogun. Of course I'm picking Shogun, but in his last fight against Alistair Overeem, he was not looking so good. He looked like he was on his way out. I think Fitch knocks Diego out in the second round. Thursday night at 6:00, we hold no punches on CageSide Live. Check us out!

[Editor's Note: Check more of Evan's prints at www.shomanart.com]