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When Rashad Evans entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the age of 26 in November 2005, virtually no one foresaw how brightly his star was going to shine.
Evans retired in June and did so as one of the most accomplished light heavyweights in mixed martial arts history—a reality masked by the fact that he closed the book on his career with a five-fight losing streak. The Niagara Falls, New York, native was as good as anyone in the sport at the height of his power. Evans’ stunning knockout of the iconic Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 in 2008 put him on the global map and netted him a light heavyweight title shot against Forrest Griffin a little less than four months later. He cashed in on the opportunity, as he put away Griffin with punches in the third round of their UFC 92 encounter. Though his stay at the top was brief, Evans nevertheless made his mark. Now 39, he will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 5.
Ahead of Evans’ induction, here are five things you should know about him:
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Rashad Evans
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1. He climbed to the top of the mountain.
Evans is one of 12 men who have captured the undisputed UFC light heavyweight championship. Liddell, Griffin, Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are the others. Evans held the 205-pound title for 147 days, from Dec. 27, 2008 to May 23, 2009.
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2. His was a tale of two halves.
Evans’ 29-fight career was something of a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde experience. He went 13-0-1 across his first 14 appearances but finished 6-8-1 over his final 15 outings.
Photo: Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
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3. Numbers favor him.
While he was far from a statistical marvel, Evans did leave an imprint on the FightMetric record book. He ranks second on the UFC’s all-time list for light heavyweights in total fight time (4:03:36), second in takedowns landed (50) and sixth in takedown accuracy (.443).
Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
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4. He used a television show as his springboard to the UFC.
Evans won season two of The Ultimate Fighter as an undersized heavyweight, defeating Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead, Keith Jardine and Brad Imes as part of the reality series in 2005. Imes held 6-inch reach, 8-inch height and 26-pound weight advantages against Evans in the final.
Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
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5. Amateur wrestling provided the backbone for his success.
Evans won a national wrestling championship at Niagara Community College in 2000 and went on the wrestle at Michigan State University, compiling 48 career victories as a Spartan.
Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
