“It’s hard,” Evans said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show this week. “I don’t want to go out losing, or nothing like that, but at the same time it’s what I need. It’s what I need to do because I feel like I have other things in life that are calling me to go, too. I thought how hard it would be for me to really say these words or really make a statement about it, but I needed to. It’s part of me healing and just accepting the what-is. I can’t fool myself any longer about it.”
“I feel a little unsettled about the way my career ended, but I think I had to end this way,” he added. “I don’t think I would have stopped if it didn’t end this way. Having it end this way, it was hard, but there’s no mistakes in life and it was necessary. I trust the process in life and I trust the universe, and God, and I know it’s going to decide what’s best for me.”
To honor the former light heavyweight champ, the UFC has released a short video composed of Rashad Evans’ five best wins, from his famous drubbing of Chuck Liddell to his title winning TKO of Forrest Griffin.
Here are the fights featured on the UFC’s list (h/t MMAMania).
5. Knocking out Tito Ortiz at UFC 133
4. Knocking out Sean Salmon at UFC Fight ight 8
3. Defeating Brad Imes to become The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Winner
2. Knocking out Chuck Liddell at UFC 88
1. Knocking out Forrest Griffin to win Light Heavyweight title at UFC 92
What was your favorite moment of Rashad Evans’ legendary MMA career? Join the conversation in the comments section below!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/27/2018.
