Ex-UFC champ Evans considering retiring on ‘high note’ after Eagle FC win

Former UFC champion Rashad Evans at the 2019 Hall-of-Fame induction. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC champion Rashad Evans isn’t sure if he’s taking another fight after his recent …


Former UFC champion Rashad Evans at the 2019 Hall-of-Fame induction.
Former UFC champion Rashad Evans at the 2019 Hall-of-Fame induction. | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC champion Rashad Evans isn’t sure if he’s taking another fight after his recent Eagle FC win.

At 42 years old, Rashad Evans defied some odds by coming out of a four-year retirement. To make this story more noteworthy, the former UFC champion managed to pull off a win against the younger Gabriel Checco at Eagle FC 44 in late January.

It was the first victory for “Suga Rashad” since his first-round TKO win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 in 2013. And now that he’s felt his hand raised once again, Evans is starting to contemplate whether or not he should fight on.

“I don’t know, I keep asking myself if I’m going to compete again or leave it as it is,” Evans told BJPenn.com in a recent interview. “It feels good to be on this high note, a big part of me just says stay here,” Evans said. “At this point in my life, I feel as if I don’t have much to fight for.

“Fighting for me has always been about the personal journey and I feel like I have passed the test I needed to pass. I’m still in the gym, training and working. I’m sure maybe somewhere down the road something will pop up for me where I’m just like, let me get one more. I’m going to take my time with it. I’m 42-years-old, we’ll see…

“That is a big part of it, that is a huge part of it if I will do it again. I got the win I have been so desperate to get. Now that I got the win, I don’t want to trade places and get a loss.”

Before Eagle FC 44, Evans went on a five-fight skid against the likes of Anthony Smith, Sam Alvey, Ryan Bader, and current UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. With the win over Checco, he improves to a record of 20-8-1.