Rashad Evans has long said that a bout with Ryan Bader would make sense for his return after a long injury layoff.
It appears Bader sees the sense in this fight, too. And it seems both can agree on a date for the potential light heavyweight showdown.
Evans and Bader are interested in tangling at UFC 192 on Oct. 3 in Houston. MMAFighting.com‘s Ariel Helwani reported the news on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.
Both Evans’ manager, Glenn Robinson, and Bader’s manager, Dave Martin, confirmed the mutual interest in the fight.
The 35-year-old Evans (19-3-1) hasn’t competed since finishing Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 in Nov. 2013, his second straight win. The former UFC light heavyweight champion has undergone knee surgery and been through complications in his recovery since, but he’s now cleared to fight.
Bader (19-4), meanwhile, is one of 205’s hottest fighters at the moment. The 32-year old Ultimate Fighter 8 winner has won four fights in a row, the last a unanimous-decision win over Phil Davis in January that sent the latter packing from the UFC. Bader was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier last month before Cormier was pulled in favor of a bout with Anthony Johnson.