Rashad Evans is an American light heavyweight MMA fighter. He became the champion of the UFC, the winner of the second season of the popular reality show in mixed martial arts The Ultimate Fighter. The athlete is inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, which includes only the most outstanding pro fighters.
Biography: early years
Rashad Anton Evans was born on September 25, 1979 in Niagara Falls, in the US state of New York. He started wrestling at school. He trained hard, showing good results for his age.
After school, Rashad continued his education in college. He did not give up wrestling. On the contrary, Rashad devoted even more time to the training process. In college, he was immediately included in the wrestling team. He soon won the final of the Niagara County Community College competition. Following this success, Evans began holding light heavyweight bouts.
At the age of 16, Rashad became the fourth in the category up to 65 kg. A year later, he took fourth place, but already in weight up to 77 kg.
In 1999, Evans was admitted to the National Collegiate Sports Association. A year later, he became the best among students in the category up to 74 kg.
Career
In 2003, Rashad began to try his hand at the professional ring. He was mentored by MMA veteran and UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severen. Under his leadership, Evans won five matches. Soon he was invited to the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Evans became its winner, defeating Brad Ames himself in the final. After that, the UFC offered him a three-year contract.
Rashad won the first five fights brilliantly. Among his rivals were Sean Salmon, Stefan Bonnard, Sam Hoger. After five victories, Evans claimed the championship belt. However, the “bosses” of the UFC decided to test his readiness for a fight of this level and gave him ex-world champion Tito Ortiz as a rival. The fight ended in a draw, but in its course it was clear that Evans was not ready for fights of such a high status.
Rashad became the champion in the light heavy category only two years later. In the decisive battle, he defeated Forrest Griffin by TKO. This meeting also received an award as "Fight of the Night". The following year, Evans failed to confirm his champion status.
In 2017, Rashad tried to compete in the middleweight division. Without success, he returned to the light heavyweight category. In the last five fights, Rashad was defeated. He retired from MMA in June 2018. However, a year later, the fighter started talking about returning to the professional ring.
Personal life
Rashad Evans has been married twice. The name of his first wife, who gave birth to a daughter to the fighter, is unknown. The second wife's name was Latoya. In marriage with her, Evans lived for five years. The couple have a daughter together. The family broke up in 2012.
Three years later, it became known that the fighter had a son. There is no information about his mother. Evans gave his son his name.
