Rashad Evans Not Crazy Explains MMA Return: ‘I Just Want To Feel It Again’

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has hit some highs in the his famous MMA career, along with a few low scores, and being both an athlete and a fighter, it’s hard to say goodbye to the feeling of winning on the big stage.

But 19-8-1 “Sugar” is bringing him back into combat sport one game at a time.

“It was a one-off fight, you know? I’m not crazy, I know what this is and I know what this is,” Evans said SiriusXM (through the News MMA). “It doesn’t lose its meaning. Sometimes we have the mindset that ‘if I’m not chasing the belt, I’m not chasing anything’. For me, competition is my reward. And to be able to do it the way and the shape that I wanted, that’s all I really needed, to be honest. I just see life differently. I’ve challenged myself in my life and I know what I’m capable of when I’m at my best and I just want to feel that feeling again.”

He will have his chance on January 22 for Eagle FC in Miami.

Evans, 42, has not competed since losing to Anthony Smith at UFC 255 in June 2018, a crushing defeat that left the former Blackzilian athlete retire (temporarily). An opponent for his cage fighting return is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.