UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans targets Shannon Briggs vs ‘Rampage’ Jackson PPV undercard for comeback
- The 41-year-old Evans says talks with YouTube star Logan Paul were ‘going pretty far’ but his management are now pursuing other matchups
- ‘I’m sure my luck is good enough that I’m gonna get one of them. I’m gonna get somebody,’ says former UFC light heavyweight champ
After years away from competitive fighting, Rashad Evans may finally have a date for his comeback.
The 41-year-old UFC Hall of Famer announced in late June he is coming out of retirement, but not inside the cage – his management team has been actively pursuing matchups in the world of boxing.
Former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs and Evans’ fellow former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have been talking up a blockbuster fight, and are now putting together a pay-per-view event later this year.
And Evans – the heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter season two – has thrown his name in the hat for the undercard.
“They’re putting on a fight card and they’re getting fighters right now,” Evans told the Post. “I told Shannon, who doesn’t live too far from where I live here in South Florida, that I’m down to fight. So whoever they can get that’s a good match-up for me. I’m definitely down with that.
“They’re looking to probably do that card, I’m thinking, November or December. I’m going to see how that develops. If it develops. And see if there is something in it for me.”
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American Evans had been targeting a boxing bout with either former multiple-time world champion Roy Jones Jnr or YouTube star Logan Paul, and talks were under way.
“They were going pretty far,” Evans said of negotiations with Paul. “It’s a popularity contest at the end of the day. And fighting one of these guys, who knows what that perfect thing is.
“I’m to the point where like I’m trash talking. But I kinda feel I’ve grown out of that in some ways. I mean, before I was a young rambunctious pup, I talked trash all day. There’s still that side of me in there but I’m a 41-year-old man. I just don’t think that way any more.
“I don’t feel like I need to go out my way to talk trash to these dudes. Yeah, they got the platform, they are bringing in the kind of notoriety that brings in dollars but these dudes haven’t really done anything. And I’m not just gonna chase after them because they got the bag. If you want to fight, I’ll fight. But I’m not gonna be a clown for you because then I lose twice.”
Evans insisted he is now waiting in the wings to capitalise on any opportunity that materialises.
“There are a lot of these fights happening right now,” he said. “I’m sure my luck is good enough that I’m gonna get one of them. I’m gonna get somebody.”
