It seems Rashad Evans and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson are interested in the new
boxing fad
that has hit combat sports in the most recent years. Following the cue of big names such as Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz and Tito Ortiz, it is now the pair of former light heavyweight champions that want to go at it in boxing.
Given that the pair has one of the most well-known rivalries in UFC history, it seems that no promoter will have any problems selling this matchup. However, it is also worth noting that both Evans and Jackson are respectively 45 and and 46 years old now, so it remains to be seen whether or not the aging vets will live up to the expectation being so past their fighting primes.
“You’ll be interested to hear that I’ve jumped into training camp, and I’m going to do a boxing match with ‘Rampage,’” Evans told
MMA Fighting. “We’re looking to do it potentially at the end of February, and it’s most likely going to be here in Florida. We’re going to do a boxing match.”
In fact, the first time Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson faced each other was 14 years ago, at UFC 114. After taking the role of team captain on The Ultimate Fighter 10, which documented their bad blood very closely, the pair had the chance to square off in a much anticipated main event in Las Vegas. After three rounds, it was Evans who emerged victorious, with a unanimous decision victory over Rampage.
Rashad Evans feels ready to box
It was in December 2008 that Rashad Evans wrote his name in MMA history, by defeating Forrest Griffin via knockout to win the light heavyweight belt at UFC 92. Unfortunately for Evans, he would go on to lose the title in his very first title defense, when he got knocked out by Lyoto Machida in May of the following year. Nonetheless, Evans would still stay in the light heavyweight mix as a respected contender for a few more years until his decline became apparent.
With his last UFC outing taking place in June 2018, it was just understood that no one would be seeing Evans compete again, and that was true for almost four years. Back in January 2022, the former champion returned to fight Gabriel Checco at Eagle FC 44, in a fight he won by way of unanimous decision.
Now, it seems clear to Evans that he will not be competing in MMA again, but he cannot ignore that itch to try a boxing fight while he still has the body to endure it. According to the light heavyweight, preparing for a boxing match has his advantages over mixed martial arts, since grappling practice was one aspect of the sport that would cause several injuries in a training camp.
“I thought about [fighting again], and I was like I’m 45 years old right now, and I could just be done with it all and just enjoy this phase of my life that I’m in right now,” Evans explained. “But then I will always wonder if I would have just had that one boxing match just for fun, just to try it out.
“Boxing is something I’m a huge fan of and there’s nothing better than getting another chance to fight ‘Rampage.’ ‘Rampage’ is in pretty good shape right now. He was getting ready for Shannon “The Cannon” [Briggs] so he’s in pretty good shape. I want to get a chance to do it again with it.”
“The big difference in me just doing this training right now with the boxing training, it just feels so much better,” Evans said. “I’m enjoying going into training, and my body’s recovering faster. I’m not having all the aches and pains. I’m not waking up and can’t step on my foot because somehow I twisted my ankle or got my foot stepped on in training and didn’t even realize it.
“With all the wrestling and grappling that goes into getting ready for fights. I’ve been really enjoying the way my body feels as it’s starting to scale up. It’s a different ball game.”
No more bad blood with Rampage Jackson
Although the rivalry between Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson is historic, Evans guarantees that the bad blood no longer exists. After years of provocation and taunting each other both online and in person, the pair finally started seeing eye to eye when they shared a movie set together, apparently.
Now, Evans thinks their relationship resembles a friendly rivalry rather than the antagonistic one they used to have all those years ago. In fact, seeing Rampage prepare for his fights is something that Evans not only enjoys, but it also inspires him to train harder and be prepared for the upcoming challenge.
“We’ve got a pretty decent relationship,” Evans said about Jackson. “We’ve got a level of respect for each other, but we still have fun and we’re still clowning each other. I’ve still got to deal with him trying to clown me, or I’ll send him a message and try to clown him. We’re fiercely competitive with each other. That’s a good thing."
“After we did the movie Boss Level, it changed our relationship because we finally had a chance to have a conversation and seeing the kind of person that he truly was and working with him so close on that for a few months was a game changer as far as our relationship. With this fight, it’s fun because there’s not that anger/animosity, but at the same time, it’s still competitive. It’s still competitive like if he sees me looking a certain kind of way [he’ll say]. ‘Hey, I see you getting ready, you’re looking pretty good’ and I’ll see him hitting the mitts or something like that and I’m like OK, he’s getting ready. It’s still the friendly competition and as the fight gets closer, all the shit talking’s going to come back. So it’s going to be fun.”
Rashad Evans debuted in the UFC in November 2005, where he became the TUF 2 champion by beating Brad Imes in the heavyweight tournament. Following the program, the young fighter immediately dropped back to light heavyweight and iniated a title run that consisted of a nine-fight unbeaten streak. During that time, he scored wins over major names in the division, such as Chuck Liddell, Michael Bisping and Forrest Griffin.
During the rest of his UFC career, Evans also scored victories over more notable names, including Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson himself, Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen. The former champion's UFC stint ended on a five-fight losing skid, the last one to Anthony Smith, a 53-second KO loss.
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