Rashad Evans doesn’t want to leave MMA until he’s satisfied, but on the same toke, Rashad says that he doesn’t want to have the sport retire him, he wants to retire. That’s sage advice from a man who was once a crotch-grabbing heart attack having showboat. Rashad has grown into an introspective athlete, someone whom you can tell has lost a step in recent years, barely able to defeat a TRT-less Hendo back in June. He’s approaching the end, and he knows how many people stay well past their prime, hell, most do in MMA, but Rashad has another idea for his final chapter in the sport.
The 34-year-old knows it’s coming, and he was a guy who really only had a string off finishes when he was at his peak, what now? MMAFighting asked the question:
. “I was in a place in my career where it just wasn’t fun for me anymore. I made it through that rough patch, because after you’ve seen everything, seen behind the curtain of Oz, it kind of changes the way you feel about it. By that I mean, you see how the whole system works, you see the politics in it, and to not be bogged down by the politics of the sport and still keeping your competitive nature, it was hard for me at first.
“But now, I’ve got a different mindset when it comes to competing. I’ve got a different mindset when it comes to just dealing with the politics of the sport and everything else. It’s helped me get a different appreciation for it. I want to keep on fighting as long as my body allows me to. As long as God gives me the ability to keep on fighting.”
“I want to be able to retire before the sport retires me,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to leave the sport until I’m competitively satisfied.”
