Rashad Evans is an American MMA fighter in the light heavyweight category. He became the champion of the UFC, the winner of the second season of the popular reality show on mixed martial arts The Ultimate Fighter. The athlete is included in the UFC Hall of Fame, which includes only particularly outstanding professional fighters.
Biography: early years
Rashad Anton Evans was born on September 25, 1979 in Niagara Falls, in the US state of New York. He began to fight in school. He trained hard, showing good results for his age.
After school, Rashad continued his college education. He did not give up wrestling. On the contrary, Rashad devoted even more time to the training process. In college, he was immediately included in the team of wrestlers. Soon, he won the finals of the Niagara County Community College competition. Following this success, Evans began holding light heavyweight bouts.
At 16, Rashad became the fourth in the category of up to 65 kg. A year later, he took fourth place, but already weighing up to 77 kg.
In 1999, Evans was enrolled in the National University Sports Association. A year later, he became the best among students in the category up to 74 kg.
Career
In 2003, Rashad began to try his hand at a professional ring. His mentor was MMA veteran and member of the UFC Hall of Fame Dan Severen. Under his leadership, Evans won five fights. He was soon invited to the The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Evans became his winner, defeating Brad Ames in the final. After that, the UFC offered him a contract for three years.
The first five fights Rashad brilliantly won. Among his rivals were Sean Salmon, Stefan Bonnard, Sam Hoger. After five victories, Evans claimed the championship belt. However, the UFC “bosses” decided to test his readiness for a fight of a similar level and as an opponent gave him ex-world champion Tito Ortiz. The fight ended in a draw, but in its course it was clear that Evans was not ready for fights of such a high status.
Rashad became the light heavyweight champion only two years later. In the decisive battle, he defeated Forrest Griffin by TKO. This meeting also received an award as "Fight of the evening." The following year, Evans was unable to confirm his champion status.
In 2017, Rashad tried to perform in middleweight. Not succeeding, he returned to the light heavyweight category. In the last five fights, Rashad was defeated. In June 2018, he resigned from MMA. However, a year later, the fighter started talking about returning to the professional ring.
