Dunham’s Continuing Education

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Three years ago, Evan Dunham was a virtual unknown outside of Eugene, Ore. Six UFC bouts later, he stands at a crossroads, having suffered the first two losses of his career in succession to Sean Sherk and Melvin Guillard.

Next on the lightweight’s plate is “The Ultimate Fighter 13” alum Shamar Bailey, a powerful wrestler making the move down to 155 pounds. The two will clash at UFC Fight Night 25 on Saturday at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans -- a far cry from Dunham’s old stomping grounds in the Pacific Northwest.

A crafty southpaw with serious skills on the floor, Dunham was clearly the brightest prospect training at Northwest Martial Arts Academy, a small gym located just west of the University of Oregon. Following Dunham’s finishes over Cleber Luciano, Eben Kaneshiro and Dustin Akbari, hushed rumors began to surface that the lightweight could be headed for a World Extreme Cagefighting appearance.

Dunham indeed found himself fighting for a Zuffa-owned promotion, but it was not in the little blue cage of the WEC. Instead, Dunham was thrust directly into the big show, stepping up as an injury replacement to face Per Eklund in most significant fight of his life. Less than one month after submitting Akbari at Palace Fighting Championship 12, Dunham earned his first Octagon victory by blasting Eklund at UFC 95 in London. Since then, the lightweight has kept busy, fighting five more times for the UFC in the next 17 months.

“It was really crazy. It was a surreal experience,” Dunham says. “It happened really quickly after the Tachi fight. I didn’t have too much time to think about it. One minute, I was down in Vegas getting ready to fight in California, and the next thing you know, I’m in England. It was one of those things where I had to strike when the iron was hot, and, luckily, I was able to make something of it.”

And strike Dunham did, rattling off consecutive victories over Pride Fighting Championships veteran Marcus Aurelio, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero and UFC lightweight stalwart Tyson Griffin. Though Dunham emerged victorious in each of the contests, he was earnestly tested by all three of his foes, a fact he believes will serve him as his career progresses.

“I think it was one of those things where they were giving me progressively tougher guys, which is good. Of course, none of them were cakewalks by any means,” Dunham says. “You just learn that no fight is an easy fight, and it’s just going to get tougher and tougher, so you step your game up, and that’s what I feel I’ve been doing.”

Following his win over Griffin at UFC 115 in June 2010, Dunham appeared to be on the fast track to a lightweight title shot. One year later, Dunham could find himself staring at a third-straight loss and even a possible release from the promotion. The lightweight’s first setback came just four months after his gutsy split decision over Griffin, as Dunham was outpointed by Sherk. The first round of their UFC 119 bout clearly belonged to the veteran, as “The Muscle Shark” put Dunham on his back and began pounding away, lacerating the prospect’s face with a trademark elbow.

“I think a big thing with that fight was that I gave him way too much respect, right from the get-go,” says Dunham. “I’ve watched Sean Sherk fight for years, and I’ve held him in really high regard. And I still do, because he's a great fighter. But at the same time, I almost went into that first round expecting to get taken down. And because of that, I think I succumbed to [the takedown] a little easier than I should have.”


Round two saw Dunham try for a guillotine choke, again giving up a takedown while bleeding profusely from a cut over his eye. With the champion once again gaining top position in the second stanza, Dunham quickly engaged in a short conversation with himself, willing his body into action with a single command: get up.

“It really was [a mental commitment], to tell you the truth. I can clearly remember the point in the fight, and I can even see it when I watch the fight now. I was on the bottom. I was taking some punishment, and I just had a quick conversation with myself,” says Dunham. “When I finally decided that it was time to start moving, I did.”

Back on his feet, Dunham began to tag the former champion with punches, finishing the second round strong. Round three was all Dunham, as the young buck found his range while escaping Sherk’s takedown attempts. It would not be enough to sway the judges, however, as the 29-year-old was handed the first loss of his career.

“In the second and third [rounds], my confidence level got up, and I truly believed it was my fight to win,” Dunham says. “In retrospect, it sucks, but at the same time, it’s a good lesson learned for me. I won’t make that mistake again.”

The Oregonian’s education was not over, however. In his next bout, he took on hyper-athletic Greg Jackson pupil Guillard in the UFC Fight Night 23 main event. “The Young Assassin” made quick work of Dunham, dropping him with a laser-like right hand before finishing the job with knees just under three minutes into the contest. While Dunham believes he contributed to his defeat by failing to follow his game plan, he takes nothing away from Guillard or his considerable abilities.

“Going into that fight, I was supposed to fight [Kenny] Florian. Then, when it got switched to Melvin, I actually thought that was the tougher fight, to tell you the truth,” says Dunham. “Any day, a fight with Florian would be an easier fight than with Melvin. That guy hits like a truck. I can tell you from experience. He’s very aggressive, he’s very fast and he’s got great standup, but, really, I didn’t implement my game plan like I was supposed to.

“I was supposed to go out there and keep moving and not stand in front of the guy and I was supposed to close the distance and take him down, and that’s exactly what I didn’t do,” he adds. “I went in there and stood with him a little bit. As soon as I stopped moving, I got caught with that right hand, and I was never able to fully recover from it. So it was a lesson learned, and I’ve just got to move on from that.”

While many might look at Dunham’s resume and perceive Bailey as a comparative step down in competition, he does not see it that way.

“I don’t think about that sort of stuff. He’s a tough kid. He fought in Strikeforce. I heard he was picked to win the show. I’m not going to look past him one bit. I’m treating him like anybody else, and I’m going to come to fight,” says Dunham. “I think he’s going to try to take me down and try to give me a big hug, but I think he’s going to be surprised, because I wrestle with guys who are at a higher level than he is everyday [at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts]. So, I really don’t think he has that big of an advantage over me in the wrestling department.”

For a man so used to winning, Dunham seems to have responded in the best way possible after suffering consecutive losses. Though outcomes are impossible to predict -- especially in a sport as erratic as MMA -- Dunham will continue to take lessons from the cage, both in victory and in defeat.

“This last fight was tough, and the Sherk fight was tough, but I’m looking to get back into that win column and I know what it takes to do that because of those fights,” he says. “And I know those types of [hard] fights are far from over. I’m expecting this next fight to be a really tough one, too.”