Rashad Evan’s grudge against Jon Jones seemed to be alive and kicking when he agreed to coach the champion’s next opponent Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, but in a new interview he gives the strongest indication yet that he’s ready to bury the hatchet with his former friend.
When asked by Ariel Helwani on this week’s edition of ‘The MMA Hour’ about his former training partner’s current status as one of the most hated fighters in MMA, Evans suggests that’s not a tag he really deserves.
“Being who he truly is, is not a guy who is disliked. He can actually be a good person, but I think him slipping back and forth between the person he thinks people want him to be and who he truly is has really messed him up.”
He then appeared to offer an olive branch to Jones by saying he would help him if he could.
“Of course, if he ever needed me for anything, I’ll be there to talk to him and to help him out if he needs it. And I don’t know everything there is to know about life, either, so if there’s something i have a problem with, I’m sure I can learn from him, too.”
Evans also spoke about his own situation currently, and gave his most realistic assessment yet on his chances of moving down to 185lbs.
“What’s the plan? I want to see what opportunity is at 185, who I have to fight and where would it lead me to, because it really makes no sense for me to drop down to 185 to be in the exact same position I am at 205, where I don’t have to cut.”
Watch the full interview below.
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