Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has put on a storied career within the sport of mixed martial arts. Now the inspiring and talented fighter has decided to hang up his gloves.
Rashad Evans earned the UFC light heavyweight belt back at UFC 92 by finishing UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin for the title. Throughout his illustrious career within the sport, Evans has put on a series of stunning octagon wars.
From his intense rivalry with fellow former title holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to his epic knockout of UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, Evans has taken on some of the toughest and most talented fighters that the sport of MMA has to offer. Through it all, Evans has come out on top as a UFC legend.
Speaking on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, June 25, Rashad Evans announced that he is now retiring from mixed martial arts.
“It’s hard. I don’t want to go out losing, or nothing like that, but at the same time it’s what I need. 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 to. It’s part of me healing and just accepting the what-is. I can’t fool myself any longer about it.”
“I feel a little unsettled about the way my career ended, but I think I had to end this way. I don’t think I would have stopped if it didn’t end this way. Having it end this way, it was hard, but there’s no mistakes in life and it was necessary. I trust the process in life and I trust the universe, and God, and I know it’s going to decide what’s best for me.”
“I can say for certainty that I won’t fight again. I feel like there’s other things in life I want to do. I know there’s other things in life I want to do. … It’s so much that goes into it all. At one point in my life I felt as if fighting was everything – it was everything. But now, I put life second. But now life is taking over and fighting is becoming second. Competing in a sport like MMA where you have a lot of guys who haven’t been to the top of the mountain, who haven’t experienced the things I’ve experienced, they’re hungry for it. For me, I was just lukewarm.”
Rashad Evans will always be remembered as one of the inspiring greats of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
