Rashad Evans wants to fully recover from an ACL injury before he makes his UFC return.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans tore his ACL in February, effectively ending his 2014 campaign before it even began. The 35-year-old has been recovering since then and recently expressed interest in a return bout with top contender Alexander Gustafsson, going as far as to tell UFC president Dana White to 'set it up'. That lead to speculation that the bout might be a featured fight on a UFC on Fox card in Sweden in January.
Alas, it won't be playing out like that.
Evans spoke with Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight and said his recovery from said injury will prevent that fight from happening anytime soon (via MMA Fighting):
"My leg isn't strong," Evans reportedly told Helwani. "I can't explode off it like I normally used to be able to and it still feels unstable. My management team wouldn't let me take the fight. Glenn [Robinson, his manager] said, 'At this stage of your career there is no need to rush into a fight especially coming back from a major injury'."
Instead, Evans is targeting a March return to the octagon. It is unlikely that Gustafsson would be looking at that fight by then, preferring to face the winner of the Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier bout scheduled for UFC 182 on January 3rd. So who should Rashad get upon his return? In such a thin division, there aren't a lot of options in my eyes.
Resumo: A perna não está 100% recuperada e ele só voltará em março. Luta contra o Suéco cancelada.
