Rashad Evans Taking His Time During Recovery From Torn ACL

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has been out of action since a torn ACL forced him from his scheduled UFC 170 co-main event showdown with No. 2-ranked Daniel Cormier.

Five months into his recovery, the No. 3-ranked “Suga” is eying a comeback, but he’s not going to take things too fast. Evans discussed his return with Inside MMA, noting that Cormier is still at the top of his list of potential opponents despite their friendship:

“Cormier is my boy, man, you know, I really like him a lot; really good friends, but Dana White is very quick to say I have too many friends. It is about business, so if they match it up, they match it up, but I’m at that cusp where, five to six months out, and this is where people usually hurt themselves again trying to push themselves back. I gotta take my time, because if I don’t take my time, then this break could be a break forever.”

Evans probably has a good plan of attack here, because we’ve seen top-level fighters rush back from injuries only to look foolish by losing a big fight; some glaring examples being Cain Velasquez at UFC on FOX 1 and even Michael Bisping at this April’s TUF Nations Finale.

Cormier is also set to undergo his own knee surgery after a third round submission over former Pride champion Dan Henderson at UFC 173, and it’s unknown if “DC” or “Suga” will be able to make it back to the cage first.

But with champion Jon Jones set to rematch No. 1 contender Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 178 this September 27, Cormier may just opt to bide his time and wait for the winner of that pivotal bout.

After all, there’s not much Cormier can gain by fighting Evans, but Evans can certainly catapult himself back into title talk with a big win over “DC.”

Is this a bout you still want to see happen?