I fought Jon Jones, beat Michael Bisping and KO’d Chuck Liddell, but none hit me harder than ‘Rumble’
Rashad Evans faced a plethora of powerful MMA superstars but one hit harder than the rest. Evans is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and contested for a title three times during a 14-year MMA career that included 33 fights. Evans was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019Getty As one of UFC’s greatest-ever light heavyweightsGetty ‘Suga’ came out of retirement for one last dance in January 2022 to get ‘that feeling again’ in what was his first bout since leaving the UFC four years prior. He was victorious at the age of 43 under the Eagle FC banner, which is owned by former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Evans was unbeaten on his run to the light heavyweight title in 2008, after winning his bracket on The Ultimate Fighter season two. He picked up wins over names like Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell en route to winning his first and only UFC belt. But, in his own words, he has never seen any man come close to the power that Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson once possessed. “You can tell how it’s gonna be when he comes to the gym,” Evans said in an interview with UFC. “If he’s really, really quiet, he’s in a mood, so you have to keep your head on a swivel because he’s coming hard. “He tries not to go hard, but then it takes one hard punch that he feels, and then all hell breaks loose and then he opens up and he goes pretty hard. “I’ve watched him knock out countless people in the gym. “He hits ridiculously hard. And the thing about it that makes his punching power so unique is that it’s effortless. He’s not trying to hit hard, he’s just swinging and that’s the crazy thing about it. Evans has worked as an analyst and commentator since retiringGetty His last UFC bout was a defeat to Anthony SmithGetty “Sometimes we’re just going light and he’ll throw a punch and I’ll go, ‘Yo, we’re going light.’ And he’ll say, ‘I wasn’t trying to hit hard, I was just swinging.’ And he really was.” Although Johnson and Evans never met in the octagon, the former faced off against some of the best stars in UFC history. ‘Rumble’ never won a UFC title but contested for it twice against former light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in 2015 and then again in 2017. He also has victories over Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafsson and Dan Hardy, who once compared Johnson to ‘an X-Man’. “But he’s got these heavy, dense bones. And when he hits you, it’s not a pain,” Evans added. “Usually it’s like a thud, and maybe your lights will flash for a little bit. He caught me with a couple of those and I’m like, ‘Woo, we’re sparring right now, huh?’ Evans will go down as one of UFC’s best-everGetty “He’s the hardest puncher I’ve ever experienced, for sure. No doubt about it.” Evans’ subsequent title defence against Lyoto Machida was the first men’s UFC title bout in the modern era where both participants were undefeated. Unfortunately for the now 45-year-old it was he who lost his ‘0’ after being knocked out in the second round. His following included victories over Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Phil David and Tito Ortiz, before losing to Jon Jones in a bid to acquire the belt a second time. Suga’s last UFC victory came against Chael Sonnen, who he knocked out in the first round five months after defeating Dan Henderson. When asked about the most satisfying win of his UFC victory, Evans cited his KO victory over Liddell as being one of them. “Yeah, I think so,” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience. “It definitely was just because going into that fight, the media sometimes can be so damn disrespectful. You know what I’m saying? “…The questioning was like, you know: ‘What have you even done to fight a guy like Chuck Liddell?’ “So going into the fight. I felt that disrespect. No, it’s like, you know what man? All right. “I’m like, I don’t care what happenS. I got a leash to at least give a good showing for myself, you know. And that’s all I really cared about doing. “I went out and I walked out to the song The Point of No Return by Immortal Technique. “And that song just really solidified everything. I was feeling at that moment. There’s a verse in there. It says the place that I’m from doesn’t exist anymore. “And I knew after I walked out to that fight that life would never be the same, whether I won or lost. “That was the big moment. I was not going to be the same Rashad after that fight no matter what happened.” After his victory over MMA legend Sonnen, Evans went on a five fight losing streak and retired from the sport after a loss to Anthony Smith in 2018. He has since worked as an analyst and commentator in the combat sports world.
Rashad Evans faced a plethora of powerful MMA superstars but one hit harder than the rest.
Evans is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and contested for a title three times during a 14-year MMA career that included 33 fights.
‘Suga’ came out of retirement for one last dance in January 2022 to get ‘that feeling again’ in what was his first bout since leaving the UFC four years prior.
He was victorious at the age of 43 under the Eagle FC banner, which is owned by former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Evans was unbeaten on his run to the light heavyweight title in 2008, after winning his bracket on The Ultimate Fighter season two.
He picked up wins over names like Michael Bisping and Chuck Liddell en route to winning his first and only UFC belt.
But, in his own words, he has never seen any man come close to the power that Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson once possessed.
“You can tell how it’s gonna be when he comes to the gym,” Evans said in an interview with UFC.
“If he’s really, really quiet, he’s in a mood, so you have to keep your head on a swivel because he’s coming hard.
“He tries not to go hard, but then it takes one hard punch that he feels, and then all hell breaks loose and then he opens up and he goes pretty hard.
“I’ve watched him knock out countless people in the gym.
“He hits ridiculously hard. And the thing about it that makes his punching power so unique is that it’s effortless. He’s not trying to hit hard, he’s just swinging and that’s the crazy thing about it.
“Sometimes we’re just going light and he’ll throw a punch and I’ll go, ‘Yo, we’re going light.’ And he’ll say, ‘I wasn’t trying to hit hard, I was just swinging.’ And he really was.”
Although Johnson and Evans never met in the octagon, the former faced off against some of the best stars in UFC history.
‘Rumble’ never won a UFC title but contested for it twice against former light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in 2015 and then again in 2017.
He also has victories over Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafsson and Dan Hardy, who once compared Johnson to ‘an X-Man’.
“But he’s got these heavy, dense bones. And when he hits you, it’s not a pain,” Evans added.
“Usually it’s like a thud, and maybe your lights will flash for a little bit. He caught me with a couple of those and I’m like, ‘Woo, we’re sparring right now, huh?’
“He’s the hardest puncher I’ve ever experienced, for sure. No doubt about it.”
Evans’ subsequent title defence against Lyoto Machida was the first men’s UFC title bout in the modern era where both participants were undefeated.
Unfortunately for the now 45-year-old it was he who lost his ‘0’ after being knocked out in the second round.
His following included victories over Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Phil David and Tito Ortiz, before losing to Jon Jones in a bid to acquire the belt a second time.
Suga’s last UFC victory came against Chael Sonnen, who he knocked out in the first round five months after defeating Dan Henderson.
When asked about the most satisfying win of his UFC victory, Evans cited his KO victory over Liddell as being one of them.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience. “It definitely was just because going into that fight, the media sometimes can be so damn disrespectful. You know what I’m saying?
“…The questioning was like, you know: ‘What have you even done to fight a guy like Chuck Liddell?’
“So going into the fight. I felt that disrespect. No, it’s like, you know what man? All right.
“I’m like, I don’t care what happenS. I got a leash to at least give a good showing for myself, you know. And that’s all I really cared about doing.
“I went out and I walked out to the song The Point of No Return by Immortal Technique.
“And that song just really solidified everything. I was feeling at that moment. There’s a verse in there. It says the place that I’m from doesn’t exist anymore.
“And I knew after I walked out to that fight that life would never be the same, whether I won or lost.
“That was the big moment. I was not going to be the same Rashad after that fight no matter what happened.”
After his victory over MMA legend Sonnen, Evans went on a five fight losing streak and retired from the sport after a loss to Anthony Smith in 2018.
He has since worked as an analyst and commentator in the combat sports world.
