(via UFC on FOX)
Outside of his occasional appearances in the FOX studio as an analyst, Rashad Evans has become an increasingly unfamiliar face to MMA fans in recent years. Following a particularly stubborn series of leg injuries that forced the former light heavyweight champion out of potential bouts with Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson among others, “Suga” returned to the cage for the first time since 2013 back in October, dropping a unanimous decision to Ryan Bader in a performance that seemed to signal that the 12-year veteran’s time as an elite 205er had come and gone.
At first, Saturday’s UFC on FOX 19 event seemed like it could be the perfect stage for Evans to mount a comeback. The TUF 2 winner and TUF 10 coach was set to face Mauricio Rua, a cagey-but-declining veteran facing many of the same career woes as himself, and was being listed as the early favorite across the board. Of course, Rua then went down with an injury, and Evans was instead paired against the incredibly dangerous Glover Teixeira instead.
When Evans and Teixeira met in the middle of the octagon at Saturday’s event, the former’s air of confidence seemed to have dissipated entirely — understandably so, given the events of the past few years. It was a different man fighting in the cage that night, and the result was a knockout loss that may very well have spelled the end of an incredible career.
After the jump: Evans’ emotional post-fight interview with Heidi Androl, and the complete list of UFC on FOX 19 results.
Speaking with Heidi Androl following the quick loss, an emotional Evans was forced to choke back tears while describing the series of devastating setbacks that have have befallen him.
“Fighting just used to come so easy, so natural,” said Evans. “Now I feel I’m fighting against myself.”
It’s a revelation that we’ve seen many a fighter come to in this unforgiving sport, and one made all the more heartbreaking when it’s being verbalized by a guy as intelligent and charismatic as Evans. For close to a decade, “Suga” was one of the most consistent and successful fighters that the UFC’s light heavyweight division had to offer — a pioneer of the modern era of MMA whose career we literally watched evolve from beginning to end. Maybe it’s that rarity that makes the thought of never seeing him compete again particularly tough to swallow, but in any case, we just hope that Evans is able to make that incredibly tough decision (should he make it) with the knowledge that he will always be one of the sport’s greats.
The full results from UFC on FOX 19 are below.
Main card
Glover Teixeira def. Rashad Evans via first-round KO (1:48)
Rose Namajunas def. Tecia Torres via unanimous decision
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Darrell Horcher via second-round TKO (3:38)
Cub Swanson def. Hacran Dias via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Undercard
Michael Chiesa def. Beneil Dariush via submission (rear-naked choke) (R2, 1:20)
Raquel Pennington def. Bethe Correia via split decision
Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Court McGee via first-round TKO (4:15)
Michael Graves def. Randy Brown via submission (rear-naked choke) (R2, 2:31)
John Dodson def. Manvel Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) at :47 of round 1
Cezar Ferreira def. Oluwale Bamgbose via unanimous decision
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Omari Akhmedov via TKO (knees) at 3:03 of round 3
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