Rashd Evans will finally get back into the Octagon after a series of false starts against Dan Kelly at UFC 209 in Las Vegas on March 4th.
The former UFC light-heavyweight champion had originally planned to make his middleweight debut against Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 in November, but was ruled out of competing by the New York State Athletic Commission due to an issue with a brain scan he’d undertaken prior to the event.
Evans claimed this was all a misunderstanding and looked to reschedule the fight for UFC 206 in Canada in December, but he was then pulled from that event for the same reason.
Thankfully the situation has now been sorted out, with further review of his MRI tests establishing that his 2016 scan was essentially the same as his 2013 one, paving the way for him to return to his fighting career.
So, Evans will now make his 185lb debut as he looks to shake off a disappointing run of form over the past few years that’s seen him win just two of his last six fights, with his most recent results being a unanimous decision loss to Ryan Bader followed by a first round KO against Glover Teixeira.
As for Kelly, he’s recorded a 5-1 record in the UFC so far and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that’s included wins over the likes of Antonio Carlos Junior and Chris Camozzi, extending his overall career run to 12-1.
Evans Vs Kelly joins a UFC 209 fight card that includes a welterweight title rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson in the main event, with an interim lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson in the co-main event and Alistair Overeem Vs Mark Hunt also on-board.
