Rashad Evans
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| Rashad Evans | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Sugar |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg/14.6 st) |
| Born | September 25, 1979 |
| Fighting out of | Lansing, Michigan |
| Town of birth | Niagara Falls, New York |
| Team/Association | Jackson's Submission Fighting |
| Fighting style | Wrestling |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 2 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979 in Niagara Falls, New York) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Evans now trains out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, under the tutelage of noted submission fighting instructor Greg Jackson; as do two of the other fighters who competed as heavyweights on the same season of The Ultimate Fighter (Dan Christison and Keith Jardine), as well as The Ultimate Fighter 1 middleweight winner and current welterweight contender, Diego Sanchez.
He holds notable wins over Hector Ramirez, Brad Imes, Sam Hoger, Stephan Bonnar, Jason Lambert, Sean Salmon, Michael Bisping and went to a draw against former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
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[edit] College career
One of eight children, [1] Evans was a two-time All-State wrestler at Niagara-Wheatfield High School in Sanborn, New York. He was also a two-way player on the school's football team, playing running back when on offense and safety on defense.[citation needed]
After graduating from high school in 1998, Evans went on to attend Niagara County Community College, where he continued his wrestling career, winning the National Junior College championship at 165 lb. (75 kg) in 2000. He then transferred to Michigan State University, competing in the 174 lb. (79 kg) weight class. He started at Michigan State for three years and amassed a 48-34 record during that time. Evans was also one of only four people to ever defeat wrestling legend Greg Jones.[citation needed] Since graduating from Michigan State and earning a degree in psychology, he has remained a resident of Lansing, Michigan. In 2005 he became an assistant coach for the Michigan State wrestling program.
[edit] Mixed martial arts
In 2004, under tutelage of MMA and wrestling legend Dan Severn, Evans competed in five professional mixed martial arts fights, winning all five. This lead to his being selected as one of the nine Heavyweights to compete on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), a reality TV series on Spike TV. The show's second season began airing on August 22, 2005, culminating in a live fight between the two finalists (in each of two weight classes, Heavyweight and Welterweight), which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 5, 2005.
Evans was the shortest (at 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)), and the second lightest (at 225 lb. (102 kg)) of the nine original Heavyweight competitors. In all of Evans' fights on The Ultimate Fighter 2 he was considered the underdog. Despite this, Evans made it to the finals by defeating Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead, and Keith Jardine. In the finals Evans defeated 6 ft 7 in Brad Imes by split decision in the November 5 finale, thus winning a three-year, six-figure contract with the UFC and a brand new car. After The Ultimate Fighter Evans, along with fellow TUF competitor Keith Jardine, joined Greg Jackson's submission fighting camp, located in Albuquerque New Mexico.
Evans dropped down to Light Heavyweight after The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale win. He had put on weight to compete on the show, but he determined that he would have a better chance of success in the Light Heavyweight division. His first fight under the contract took place on April 6, 2006 against Sam Hoger, who was a semi-finalist on season one of The Ultimate Fighter. Evans defeated Hoger via split decision despite nearly falling victim to a kimura submission at the end of the second round.
Evans followed up with a victory by majority decision over The Ultimate Fighter 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar on June 28, 2006. Evans maintained control throughout the fight with repeated take downs, including a number of slams in the center of the cage. Although he was criticized for stalling on the ground by color commentator Joe Rogan, Rogan felt that Evans deserved a unanimous decision, as it was revealed in the post-fight commentary.
On September 23, 2006, Evans fought Jason Lambert on the UFC 63 under card. Lambert was seen as Evans' first real test at 205 pounds, and as with most of his previous UFC fights, Evans was again the underdog. Lambert was seen by many as the next "big up and comer" in the division due to an eight-fight win streak leading into his bout with Evans. From the early going Evans controlled the fight, however, and eventually ended in the second round when Evans knocked Lambert out from the mount. It was his first victory by other than decision in more than two years.
Evans' next fight took place on January 25, 2007 in Hollywood, Florida against Sean Salmon, a highly decorated NCAA wrestler who competed on the Olympic circuit and was 9-1 in MMA. Though Salmon had won the first round by scoring two take downs, he eventually succumbed to a head kick delivered by Evans early in the second round for a knockout. Salmon remained motionless several minutes after the fight and was eventually carried out on a stretcher to a local hospital.
At UFC 73 Evans and Tito Ortiz fought to a draw as all three judges scored the bout 28-28. Immediately after the fight, Ortiz asked for a rematch. At a press conference following UFC 73, UFC President Dana White said, "We have to see a rematch between Tito and Rashad. It was a good fight", and also "The rematch will happen almost immediately. They will not fight anyone else in between. Although White agreed that a rematch would immediately follow, UFC has recently announced the first ever TUF winners match between Evans and TUF 3 winner Michael Bisping at UFC 78 "[1] which Evans defeated Bisping via split decision.
It was officially announced that Evans is returning at UFC 85 as Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's replacement in a bout which was supposed to be against Chuck Liddell before he injured his hamstring and had to pull out. He was scheduled to fight James Irvin as Liddell's replacement but due to Irvin breaking his foot was removed from the card altogether.
[edit] Personal life
Rashad and his wife, LaToya, have two children, daughter Tahja and son Rashad Jr.[2]
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 12 matches | 11 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 11-0-1 |  Michael Bisping |
Decision (Split) | UFC 78 - Validation | 17 November 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Prudential Center, Newark, NJ | |
| Draw | 10-0-1 |  Tito Ortiz |
Draw | UFC 73 - Stacked | 7 July 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | ARCO Arena, Sacramento, Calif. | |
| Win | 10-0 | Sean Salmon |
KO (Kick) | UFC Fight Night 8 | 25 January 2007 | 2 | 1:06 | Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, FL | |
| Win | 9-0 | Jason Lambert |
KO (Punches from mount) | UFC 63 - Hughes vs Penn | 23 September 2006 | 2 | 2:22 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA. | |
| Win | 8-0 | Stephan Bonnar |
Decision (Majority) | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 | 28 June 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Nevada, United States |
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| Win | 7-0 | Sam Hoger |
Decision (Split) | UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 | 6 April 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Nevada, United States |
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| Win | 6-0 | Brad Imes |
Decision (Split) | The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale | 5 November 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Nevada, United States |
Wins The Ultimate Fighter 2 heavyweight competition |
| Win | 5-0 | Jaime Jara |
Decision (Unanimous) | GC 27 - FightFest 2 | 3 June 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | California, United States |
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| Win | 4-0 | Hector Ramirez |
Decision (Unanimous) | GC 27 - FightFest 2 | 3 June 2004 | 2 | 5:00 | California, United States |
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| Win | 3-0 | Bryan Pardoe | TKO | GC 26 - FightFest 1 | 2 June 2004 | 1 | 3:24 | California, United States |
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| Win | 2-0 | Danny Anderson | Submission (Strikes) | Dangerzone - Cage Fighting | 10 April 2004 | 1 | 3:09 | Iowa, United States |
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| Win | 1-0 | Dennis Reed |
Submission | Dangerzone - Cage Fighting | 10 April 2004 | 1 | 0:50 | Iowa, United States |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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