Rashad Evans unsure if he’ll fight again after Eagle FC win: “I got the win I have been so desperate to get”

Rashad Evans always wanted to end his career on a win and he may have just done that.

Evans ended his near four-year retirement to return at Eagle FC 44 where he fought Gabriel Checco. He entered the fight on a five-fight losing streak but he says the pandemic is a key reason as to why he even wanted to fight again.

“It was a few different things, ending my career the way I did, it didn’t sit well with me,” Evans said to BJPENN.com. “Just doing a lot of soul-searching over the past few years brought back that competitive edge and also some of the things, the pandemic put things into perspective. It made me want to compete. It felt like we were running out of time to do the things we truly love to do.”

In his return fight, he took on Checco at Eagle FC 44 in a highly-anticipated fight. Evans admits he didn’t know how the fight would play out but did say the pressure and nerves were at an all-time high.

“Quite a bit of pressure, even though I told myself there wasn’t,” Evans explained. “I put pressure on myself, I needed to put that pressure on myself, I needed to fight with urgency, I needed to have that feeling in my stomach that if I don’t win this fight that everything I worked for is done. Just going out there, being first and making sure I was leading the dance.”

In the fight, Rashad Evans controlled Gabriel Checco and won a clear one-sided decision. It was his first win since 2013 which he says is a big weight off his shoulders.

“I was extremely happy, it was a long time since I competed. Going in there and competing the way I did, meant a lot to me,” Evans said. “You never know how things will go when you come back. I’m just happy it came out the way I wanted to… It was crazy because I haven’t had my hand raised since 2013. It was something that I haven’t felt in a long time and something I missed. I missed that feeling of going out there and achieving your goal. For years I struggled to get that win and it left me in a place where I lost confidence in my ability to fight and who I was as a competitor.”

Even though Rashad Evans proved he can still fight, he isn’t sure what his fighting future holds. He says he always wanted to end his career on a win, which means Eagle FC 44 might’ve been his retirement fight.

However, he also isn’t ruling out another fight in the future. For now, Evans is just soaking up the win and mulling over what’s next for him.

“I don’t know, I keep asking myself if I’m going to compete again or leave it as it is. It feels good to be on this high note, a big part of me just says stay here,” Evans said. “At this point in my life, I feel as if I don’t have much to fight for. Fighting for me has always been about the personal journey and I feel like I have passed the test I needed to pass. I’m still in the gym, training and working, I’m sure maybe somewhere down the road something will pop up for me where I’m just like, let me get one more. I’m going to take my time with it. I’m 42-years-old, we’ll see…

“That is a big part of it, that is a huge part of it on if I will do it again. I got the win I have been so desperate to get. Now that I got the win, I don’t want to trade places and get a loss,” Evans concluded.

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