Rashad Evans Deserves His UFC Hall of Fame Induction in a Big Way

The UFC has just announced that Rashad Evans will be inducted into their Hall of Fame, and you know what? The dude very much deserves it.

Sure, he retired last year after a losing streak that spanned five fights over three years, so maybe most remember him for his losses. But! Evans won The Ultimate Fighter when it was actually a big deal, and he was even the light-heavyweight for a while. What more does someone need to do to earn a HOF slot?

Here’s the UFC’s official statement:

UFC® today announced that former UFC light heavyweight champion and winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter®, Rashad Evans, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ as a member of the class of 2019. The 2019 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Toyo Tires®, will take place on Friday, July 5, at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The event will be streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS® starting at 7 p.m. PT.

“Rashad and I have been close since season two of The Ultimate Fighter and we’ve had an amazing relationship,” UFC President Dana White said. “It has been fun to see him succeed and grow as a fighter, become a world champion and then a respected coach for up and coming fighters, and then to see him retire last year. I love to see him still involved with UFC. I couldn’t be prouder of Rashad than I am right now with him being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.”

Evans will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, joining Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018) and Michael Bisping (2019). The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000 (when the unified rules of mixed martial arts were adopted), are a minimum age of 35, or have been retired for one year or more.