Rashad Evans looking at return to 205 pounds: ‘I can’t retire like this’

It might surprise you learn that former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans hasn’t won a fight since 2013. Way back at UFC 167, Evans stopped Chael Sonnen in the first round and was still near the top of the promotion’s 205-pound division.

Times change though. Evans has lost four straight bouts since then, including two at middleweight to relatively unheralded competition. He hasn’t looked like the same fighter either - very tentative, and not letting his striking go like the man that started his career 17-1-1 and won a title along the way.

For the 38-year-old though, the calls for retirement aren’t something he’s going to listen to. He has a pretty legitimate reason for it too - he couldn’t just walk away with those four straight losses hanging over his head (via MMA Fighting):

“I can’t retire like this. I would never know peace again in my life. Endless nights I would be left looking at the ceiling unable to accept reality.”

So, instead of continuing on in a 185-pound division where he hasn’t looked sharp over two fights, he’s considering a return to light heavyweight:

“I have to talk that over, but I feel like at 205 I had more energy.”

Evans, who has battled knee injuries over the last four years, might have the right idea going back to 205. The division is as thin as it has ever been, and he might be able to find a place there once again. In the meantime, he is looking to return to the Octagon in early 2018.