Flyweight title contender Ian McCall doesn’t have very high praise to give to UFC star and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.
Seemingly, “Suga” is somewhat of a downer in person.
That’s the story taken from a couple of passing altercations with “Suga” over the years, as McCall tells MMA Mania that Evans is a “dick” who doesn’t like to interact with fans or his fellow fighters.
During a recent episode of MMA Mania’s Verbal Submission podcast, McCall detailed the following story as he heavily criticized the UFC 156 co-main eventer:
I’ve even had run-ins or altercations with Rashad where he was just a dick. He just doesn’t connect with fans. Even my nephew was like, “Wow, that guy’s an asshole,” and my nephew’s like a kid at the time.
That reputation seems to have followed Evans for at least a few years, even stretching back to his early days on Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter.
According to McCall, the Blackzilians camp leader was even visibly reluctant to interact with fans back at WEC 38 in January 2009, citing some “rude” antics during a photo request:
I was fighting in the WEC when I fought Dominick Cruz in San Diego. We were walking to the lobby and my brother and nephew were there with like Jens Pulver and a few other guys. Jens puts his arm around everybody wanting to take a picture. My nephew asked Rashad specifically and he literally stood like 2-3 feet apart from everybody, not engaging with anyone. I don’t know where the picture is now but it was a really awkward picture. I’ve heard from a lot of people that he’s just standoffish and kinda rude. You never know, he could be a great person in real life, but I’m just saying what I saw. That’s what I saw.
Of course, just about any celebrity like Rashad Evans will have his fair share of detractors.
During his career, “Suga” has been a willing part of various fan events, meet-and-greets, autograph signings and various other fan-related activities.
However, random spats will always stick out, like an infamous moment where he refused to sign a picture of himself getting knocked out by Lyoto Machida, even crushing the fan’s photograph (H/T MiddleEasy) before shooing him away.
Regardless of his persona, Evans still manages to be one of the top draws in the UFC, and will supplement a heavily stacked main card at UFC 156 on Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Evans will face the dangerous Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, looking to rebound off a one-sided loss to champion Jon Jones.
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