A recent statement from former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans after picking up his fifth loss in a row inside the Octagon suggested that the 38-year-old was on the verge of retirement, and he has now officially confirmed it.
“I’m gonna retire,” Evans said on this week’s ‘MMA Hour’ show. “There’s just so much that goes into it all, but at one point in my life I felt as if fighting was everything. It was everything. I put life second, but now life is taking over and now fighting has become second. Competing in a sport like mixed martial arts where you have a lot of guys who haven’t been to the top of the mountain and haven’t experienced it the things that I’ve experienced, they’re really hungry for it.
“Me, I was just lukewarm. I’ve been through a lot in this sport. I’ve fought a lot of fights and I don’t look at the sport the same way.”
Though the fight with Anthony Smith, which ended in a 53 second knockout, was tough to deal with, Evans says he knew this would be his final fight before he even set foot in the Octagon.
“I kinda felt it was it. I always said to myself when it’s time, I’ll know. And I always prayed that I would know when it’s time and when I walked out, I knew. I knew. It took me weeks to really admit it to myself.”
