Former UFC Champion Rashad Evans Announces His Retirement from MMA
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is calling it a career.
On Monday, Evans officially announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts with a career that spanned more than a decade with most of his time spent fighting in the UFC.
“I don’t want to go out losing, or nothing like that, but at the same time it’s what I need,” Evans told ESPN about his retirement. “It’s what I need to do because I feel like I have other things in life that are calling me to go too. I thought how hard it would be for me to really say these words or really make a statement about it, but I needed too.
“It’s part of me healing and just accepting the what-is. I can’t fool myself any longer about it.”
Evans most recently competed at UFC 225 in Chicago where he suffered a first round knockout loss to Anthony Smith in what was ultimately his fifth defeat in a row overall. Afterwards, UFC president Dana White hinted that Evans had told him he was planning to retire but no official announcement was made.
Now Evans has decided to hang up his gloves for good.
After wrestling at Michigan State University, Evans made his way to the UFC through “The Ultimate Fighter” where he competed on season two of the long running reality show. Evans ultimately became champion that season in the heavyweight division with a win over Brad Imes.
Following the completion of the show, Evans moved to light heavyweight where he remained undefeated for his next eight fights including a win over Forrest Griffin in 2008 when he became the 205-pound champion.
Evans would later be embroiled in a series of epic rivalries including a showdown against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson after they served as coaches against each other on “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10.
Evans was also involved in a heated rivalry with former teammate Jon Jones, which culminated in a title fight back in 2012.
Throughout his career, Evans was always willing to take on the toughest challenges the UFC could throw at him and he even tested the waters at middleweight in the latter part of his career.
Overall, Evans retires with a 19-8-1 record including a 14-8-1 record in the UFC.
