UFC and Ontario Commission issue statements on Evans’ removal from UFC 206

There still isn’t a ton of clarity on what is actually wrong with Rashad Evans. The former UFC light heavyweight champion was set to make his 185-pound debut at UFC 205 against Tim Kennedy. Unfortunately, the New York commission has very strict medical rules, and Evans didn’t meet them so the bout was canceled and eventually rescheduled for UFC 206 in Toronto.

Well, the Ontario Commission came to the same conclusions as New York did, and Evans isn’t able to fight there either.

Yesterday, Evans stated that he wasn’t retiring and his manager was hoping to get him booked in early 2017. Today, both Ontario and the UFC issued statements on the matter.

Ontario's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport issued this statement (via MMA Fighting):

“The Office of the Athletics Commissioner is responsible for upholding medical requirements, which are put in place to protect the safety of contestants. In regards to the UFC 206 event on December 10, Mr. Evans has not cleared Ontario's medical licensing requirements. We can confirm that his proposed bout has not been approved but are unable to comment further on his private and confidential medical information.”

This is the UFC’s statement:

“UFC has been notified by the Ontario Athletic Commission that it has declined to approve a license for middleweight Rashad Evans, based on the recent medical issue that prohibited him from competing at UFC 205 in New York City. As a result, Evans' rescheduled bout against Tim Kennedy, set for UFC 206 in Toronto on Saturday, December 10, has subsequently been cancelled.

The UFC organization takes the health and safety of all athletes competing under the UFC banner very seriously and has encouraged Evans to take all the appropriate time to consult with his physicians and properly evaluate his medical status prior to scheduling any future bouts.”

Evans himself says the UFC is helping him with this, and offered an apology to Kennedy.

The UFC is looking for another opponent for Kennedy at the moment. As for Rashad, hopefully the mystery issue is something that he can clear up so he can continue his career.