When an injury to Quinton Jackson left the UFC looking for a fighter to face rising star Glover Teixeira at UFC 153 the organization turned to Rashad Evans in hopes of convincing him to take the scrap on short notice. However, Evans wasn’t interested in accepting their proposal and the opportunity ultimately went to Fabio Maldonado.
Evans confirmed the matter over the weekend during Fuel TV’s coverage of UFC on Fuel 5, admitting he rejected the bout based on the lack of time to train properly for the pairing. Apparently his honesty didn’t sit well with some fans, drawing a fair amount criticism online for his decision to play it safe instead of risk his reputation without being 100% prepared.
The former light heavyweight champion has since addressed his detractors, clarifying his position in the process.
“I will fight anybody with the proper notice. But after eight years with the UFC and being one of their top earners, why would I take a bad fight? Bad fight meaning not being in shape,” Evans explained in a message on Twitter. “Losing is hard enough but I will never serve myself up! If I haven’t been training I won’t fight! I know a lot of you fans may not realize (it) but I don’t walk around ready to fight. No one does. In this sport it takes at least eight weeks to be ready!”
“There are no easy fights,” he concluded.
With the controversy hopefully behind him, the 33-year old Evans will now turn his attention to training for a fight likely to come in the first month or two of 2013. He was last seen suffering a decision loss to title-holder Jon Jones but had won four straight entering the April match-up.
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
Ao Hailin Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi
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