Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans had an incredible career and now he is being rewarded as the latest member of the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2019.
The news was announced on Saturday night during the UFC Fight Night broadcast from Rochester, N.Y.
Originally joining the UFC by way of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Evans actually started his Octagon career as a heavyweight where he won the reality show and then immediately moved down to 205 pounds.
As a light heavyweight, Evans faced a long list of the best fighters the division had to offer while picking up wins over the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping and a thunderous knockout against Chuck Liddell that earned him a shot at the title back in 2008.
Evans then went onto win the championship with a third round TKO against fellow ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner Forrest Griffin.
After dropping the title, Evans would still remain a stalwart at the top of the light heavyweight division while earning victories against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Tito Ortiz and Phil Davis.
Evans would go onto compete for the title one more time but he came up short against former teammate Jon Jones in 2012.
Evans officially retired from active competition in 2018 and now serves as one of the on-air analysts for the UFC during broadcasts on ESPN.
Now the 39-year old New York native joins the UFC Hall of Fame class of 2019 that already includes fellow former champions Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in July as part of International Fight Week 2019 in Las Vegas.
