Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division.

In present day, he serves on the UFC broadcasting team as a desk analyst[5] while also advocating for the health benefits of functional mushrooms through his company Umbo, co-founded alongside former NFL quarterback, Jake Plummer.

In addition to Volkmann, this 174 pound weight class also saw more future UFC competitors with Gerald Harris and Josh Koscheck competing in it this year.

Entering the NCAA Division 1 championships on top of this 3rd-place finish, Evans won his opening match before losing a close 3–0 decision to the eventual national champion, Robbie Waller.

Staying alive through the consolation bracket Evans pinned his next opponent before being matched up with legend Greg Jones, a 3x National Champion who would finish his college career with a record of 126–4.

[7][8][9] In 2004, under the tutelage of future UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn,[10] Evans competed in five professional mixed martial arts fights, winning all five.

[11] He was considered the underdog in each of his fights, but made it to the finals by defeating Tom Murphy, Mike Whitehead, and Keith Jardine all by decision.

In the finale, Evans defeated 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Brad Imes by split decision, thus winning a three-year, six-figure contract with the UFC and a brand new car.

After The Ultimate Fighter, Evans joined Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting camp along with fellow competitor Keith Jardine, who would eventually become his training partner and good friend.

Evans dropped down to light heavyweight after the show, deciding he would have a better chance of success in a lower weight class.

Evans maintained control throughout the fight with repeated take downs, including a number of slams in the center of the cage and went on to secure the victory.

Entering the fight as a very heavy underdog, Evans shocked the world by knocking out former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in brutal fashion at UFC 88.

[22] Evans's first defense of the UFC Light Heavyweight title against challenger Lyoto Machida ended in a knockout loss.

[27] Dana White was quoted as saying that if Evans could defeat Thiago Silva at UFC 108, then he would go on to face Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

[28] During the Spike TV broadcast of the UFC 108 preliminary card, Evans confirmed that he received his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Rolles Gracie that morning.

[31] In the third round, after severely mocking his opponent's fighting style with various taunts, Silva connected with a right hook to Evans's jaw, rocking him.

[38] During a UFC 128 post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani, Evans stated that he was done training at Jackson's Martial Arts in preparation for his fight with Jon Jones.

[39] He then commenced training at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida, at a new camp co-founded by Evans and several Brazilian fighters who had concomitantly left American Top Team due to a dispute over management services; these were later joined by some African-American fighters, and as a result the camp's members became known colloquially as the "Blackzilians", especially on Twitter.

Evans gave further insight to MMAWeekly about his leaving Jackson's Submission Fighting, "When you get to a certain point, you really need a lot of time (with the coaches)… make sure you get the one-on-one, and you just need different things," he explained.

[41][42] A title fight between José Aldo and Chad Mendes was delayed, so the UFC promoted Evans vs. Davis to serve as the main event.

[45] However, a lingering thumb injury cost Evans another title opportunity, and he was replaced by Lyoto Machida to fight Jon Jones for the belt at UFC 140.

In his first post-title shot fight, Evans faced Antônio Rogério Nogueira in the co-main event at UFC 156 on February 2, 2013.

Evans faced Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 in a Light Heavyweight bout on November 16, 2013, in the co-main event of the evening.

A heavyweight bout between Antônio Silva and Frank Mir, previously scheduled for UFC 184, took place a week earlier and headlined the event.

[58] Evans announced in mid-February 2015 that he expected to be sidelined an additional six to sevens months after undergoing another knee surgery and hoped to return by the end of 2015.

[62] However, Rua was pulled from the fight on March 9 in favor of a matchup with Corey Anderson a couple of weeks later at UFC 198 and was replaced by former title challenger Glover Teixeira.

An irregularity in his pre-fight tests was responsible for both removals and he is expected to undergo an additional screening with an neurologist to prove he is healthy enough to fight, before possibly returning to the cage in January or February, according to his manager.

[79] On December 19, 2021, Evans is scheduled to compete in his first professional grappling match against Ryan Aitken under the Combat Jiu-Jitsu ruleset at the Featherweight edition of the CJJ World Championships.

[80] On September 20, 2019, news surfaced that by his request, Evans was released from the UFC in order to pursue a return from retirement in another organization.

In the episode, Evans easily pierces a pig carcass with the xyston similar to one used by Alexander the Great, and crushed a gel torso's throat with an elbow.