There have been a series of unfortunate mishaps en route to a title shot for Rashad Evans, but after his dominant victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 133, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone else more well-deserving than him.
While Evans finds himself in title contention, he doesn’t want to waste another opportunity to reclaim it. It’s a decision that has left him out of the picture before and cost him a year of activity.
“Rashad’s committed to fighting. If the title shot was a year away, I’m sure Rashad would take another fight. He’s not going to put his career on hold a year, but we don’t anticipate that being the case,” Evans manager, Glenn Robinson, told MMAWeeklyRadio.
“I hope that’s not the case. Rashad would like to fight for the title next.”
Evans’ determination and hard work as a fighter paid off when he returned from a 14 month layoff to defeat Ortiz. It was a testament to his claim as one the best 205lb fighters and a defining moment in his career.
Now that he has firmly positioned himself for a title shot, Evans will be cage-side to witness the upcoming UFC light heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135.
But should the fight be delayed at some point due to injury, Evans will not hesitate to fight and remain active in the light heavyweight division. Layoffs are something Evans has familiarized himself with and due to past experiences, he won’t want to pass up another opportunity.
“If some reason the fight is delayed to a point where he has to take another opponent, he’ll take another opponent,” Robinson said.
“The title shot is his first choice, it is his first desire, but more so than anything he wants to fight.”
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