Another more than deserving name has been added to the UFC Hall of Fame, as former light heavyweight champion and Ultimate Fighter winner Rashad Evans has joined the Class of 2019.
The promotion announced the induction of Rashad Evans to the UFC Hall of Fame Modern Wing during the main card of UFC Rochester.
Evans joins fellow 2019 inductee Michael Bisping, Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber, Ronda Rousey in the modern wing.
Evans was one of the finest fighters of the mid-to-late-2000s. The former Michigan State wrestler went 5-0 to start his career, then joined the cast of the second season of The Ultimate Fighter as a heavyweight. Evans went 3-0 on the show and defeated Brad Imes in the finale to win the contract with the promotion. He then went 6-0-1 with a knockout against Chuck Liddell to earn a title shot. The New York native capitalized on the opportunity, knocking out then-champion Forrest Griffin in 2008 to win the belt. Unfortunately, Evans was brutally knocked out by Lyoto Machida in his first defense, limiting his reign to just under five months.
During the next stage of his career, Evans reached new heights in popularity as a coach on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Rampage Jackson. The heated rivalry culminated in a massive pay-per-view that generated over 1,000,000 buys and a Rashad Evans victory. The Blackzilians/Hard Knocks 365 product received his next title shot in 2012, falling to Jon Jones. Evans earned the final wins of his career in 2013 against Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen before going on an unfortunate 0-5 skid to end his career, retiring in June of 2018.
In the later stages of his fighting career, Evans became one of the top analysts for the promotion on both FOX and ESPN.
The eighth UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, which lasts from July 3-7.
The following highlight reel played at the stadium and on the broadcast:
Congratulations @SugaRashadEvans! #UFCRochester
Modern Era Wing: Rashad Evans | https://t.co/1bM4uLpeJU pic.twitter.com/jSPIz5MEuT
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) May 19, 2019
Rashad Evans was, as expected, brought to tears by the announcement.
👏 👏 👏 👏@SugaRashadEvans #UFCHoF pic.twitter.com/5hQeb4UeWv
— UFC (@ufc) May 19, 2019
Rashad Evans was one of
