1. Rashad Evans was born on September 25,1979 and is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division.
56 Facts About Rashad Evans
1. 2.
In 2008, Rashad Evans won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and in 2019, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
3.
In 2003, Rashad Evans again competed in the 174 pound weight class, capturing 3rd place in the Big Ten Championships.
4.
Rashad Evans finished his career at Michigan State with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses.
5.
In 2004, under the tutelage of future UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Rashad Evans competed in five professional mixed martial arts fights, winning all five.
6.
Rashad Evans is a black belt in Gaidojutsu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and studied karate as a child.
7.
Rashad Evans was considered the underdog in each of his fights, but made it to the finals by defeating Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead, and Keith Jardine all by decision.
8.
Rashad Evans dropped down to light heavyweight after the show, deciding he would have a better chance of success in a lower weight class.
9.
Rashad Evans's first fight under the contract took place on April 6,2006, against Sam Hoger, who had been a semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 1.
10.
Rashad Evans defeated Hoger via split decision despite nearly falling victim to a kimura submission at the end of the second round.
11.
Rashad Evans followed with a victory by majority decision over The Ultimate Fighter 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar on June 28,2006.
12.
Rashad Evans maintained control throughout the fight with repeated take downs, including a number of slams in the center of the cage and went on to secure the victory.
13.
Three months later, Rashad Evans faced Jason Lambert at UFC 63.
14.
Rashad Evans controlled the fight from early on, and knocked Lambert out with punches from the mount in the second round.
15.
At UFC 73, Rashad Evans squared off against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz.
16.
Unable to get a rematch with Ortiz, Rashad Evans made his debut as a headliner on a pay-per-view event at UFC 78 instead, against fellow undefeated fighter and The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Michael Bisping.
17.
Liddell threw an uppercut that Rashad Evans countered with an overhand right, landing flush.
18.
Rashad Evans had previously been scheduled to face Liddell at UFC 85 as a replacement for the injured Mauricio Rua.
19.
When Liddell pulled out of the event due to an injured hamstring, Rashad Evans was matched with James Irvin.
20.
On December 27,2008, at UFC 92, Rashad Evans faced champion Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight belt.
21.
Rashad Evans followed Griffin to the ground and eventually managed to finish the stunned champion with punches inside Griffin's guard.
22.
Rashad Evans was scheduled to fight Jackson on December 12,2009, at UFC 107, but this was canceled due to Jackson being cast for the A-Team movie.
23.
Rashad Evans fought Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC 108 on January 2,2010.
24.
Rashad Evans was expected to finally face rival Quinton Jackson at UFC 113, but the bout took place on May 29,2010, at UFC 114.
25.
Rashad Evans caught Jackson with a right hand early in the first round and throughout the rest of the fight tried to take Jackson down, succeeding three times out of nine.
26.
Rashad Evans then commenced training at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida, at a new camp co-founded by Evans and several Brazilian fighters who had concomitantly left American Top Team due to a dispute over management services; these were later joined by some African-American fighters, and as a result the camp's members became known colloquially as the "Blackzilians", especially on Twitter.
27.
Rashad Evans was expected to face rising prospect Phil Davis at the event instead.
28.
Rashad Evans defeated Ortiz at UFC 133 via TKO in the second round.
29.
Rashad Evans faced Phil Davis on January 28,2012, at UFC on Fox 2.
30.
Rashad Evans faced Dan Henderson on June 15,2013, in the main event at UFC 161.
31.
Rashad Evans faced Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 in a Light Heavyweight bout on November 16,2013, in the co-main event of the evening.
32.
Rashad Evans won the fight via TKO in the first round.
33.
Rashad Evans was expected to face Daniel Cormier at UFC 170 on February 22,2014.
34.
Originally expected to be out for a month, Rashad Evans was instead sidelined indefinitely.
35.
Rashad Evans was linked to a potential bout with Alexander Gustafsson on January 24,2015, at UFC on Fox 14.
36.
However, Rashad Evans announced he was not ready to accept a fight during that time frame as he was still rehabilitating a lingering knee injury.
37.
Rashad Evans was expected to face Glover Teixeira on February 22,2015, at UFC Fight Night 61.
38.
Rashad Evans announced in mid-February 2015 that he expected to be sidelined an additional six to sevens months after undergoing another knee surgery and hoped to return by the end of 2015.
39.
Rashad Evans faced Ryan Bader on October 3,2015, at UFC 192.
40.
Rashad Evans lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
41.
Rashad Evans was expected to face Tim Kennedy in a middleweight bout on November 12,2016, at UFC 205.
42.
Rashad Evans faced Dan Kelly on March 4,2017, at UFC 209.
43.
Rashad Evans faced Sam Alvey on August 5,2017, at UFC Fight Night 114.
44.
Rashad Evans faced Anthony Smith in a light heavyweight bout on June 9,2018, at UFC 225.
45.
Rashad Evans lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
46.
On June 25,2018, Rashad Evans announced his retirement from MMA.
47.
On May 18,2019, Rashad Evans was announced to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame on July 5,2019.
48.
On December 19,2021, Rashad Evans was scheduled to compete in his first professional grappling match against Ryan Aitken under the Combat Jiu-Jitsu ruleset at the Featherweight edition of the CJJ World Championships.
49.
On September 20,2019, news surfaced that by his request, Rashad Evans was released from the UFC in order to pursue a return from retirement in another organization.
50.
In December 2021, Rashad Evans revealed he would be fighting for the first time since 2018 for Khabib Nurmagomedov's Eagle Fighting Championship promotion.
51.
Rashad Evans's comeback fight took place at Eagle FC 44 on January 28,2022, against Gabriel Checco.
52.
On December 11,2024, it was announced that Rashad Evans had signed with Global Fight League.
53.
Rashad Evans was scheduled to face Quinton Jackson in a boxing bout on April 12,2025 at ICS Mania 1.
54.
Rashad Evans has a daughter from a previous relationship and a son who was born in 2015.
55.
Rashad Evans was a frequent commentator on the ESPN show MMA Live.
56.
Rashad Evans made an appearance on Spike TV's show Deadliest Warrior.