Rashad Evans Explains How He Wants His UFC Career Remembered

Rashad Evans has enjoyed a long and prosperous mixed martial arts (MMA) career, but now, that career has come to an end.

Over the past few years, despite his lack of performance inside the Octagon, Evans continued to push forward with his pro-MMA career.

In his latest bout that aired on the preliminary portion of the UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena, Anthony Smith connected with a knee on Evans just under a minute into the fight that rendered him unconscious. He dropped five consecutive contests, with two of those bouts taking place at 185 pounds in the latter stage of his career.

Evans, who finished his pro-MMA career with a 19-8-1 record, beat Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 to win the UFC light heavyweight championship. Now, he’s slated to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this July.

The UFC veteran recently spoke with Luke Thomas of MMA Fighting on “The MMA Hour” where he reflected on his fight career. He noted that he hopes his career will be remembered as a gratuitous one, showcasing how he impacted others:

“I couldn’t be happier [with my career],” Evans said. “Even though it didn’t end the way that I wanted to, it ended the way it needed to. That’s one that I had to reflect on and accept on.

“Just accept and move forward in life. But there’s a lot to be proud of with the career that I have. Watching that [career] montage, I forgot the emotion behind some of the things I’ve accomplished because I haven’t put myself in a position to have perspective.

“So being able to have perspective one Saturday was just an emotional thing. I hope it’s one that is about giving. Yeah, I was tough and yeah, I did my thing. But, at the end of the day, I think a life is truly measured by how it has impacted others. I want to be able to be one that impacted a lot of people.”