At a career crossroads prior to his bout against Chael Sonnen at UFC 167, Rashad Evans knew that he was in dire need of a return-to-form performance.
He needed the kind of win that would make fellow light heavyweight fighters grow concerned.
Well, in the process of overwhelming Sonnen in both the clinch and grappling game—arguably two of his most prominent strong suits—that’s exactly what he did.
The issue, though? The top 10 of his weight division are too distracted to care.
Glover Teixeira is awaiting his title shot, Alexander Gustafsson is already taken, and the rest have their own corresponding issues.
So let’s not mince words: There are few ideal matchups that would catapult Evans closer to the title.
Instead, let’s check out three viable options that would prove interesting nonetheless.