Rashad Evans won't retire after UFC 209 upset loss: 'I know I'm better than this'

Rashad Evans doesn’t appear to be thinking about retirement despite suffering arguably the worst loss of his career at UFC 209.

Evans (19-6-1 MMA, 14-6-1 UFC), the former UFC light heavyweight champion who lost his middleweight debut to Daniel Kelly (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) by split decision at this month’s event, has dropped three consecutive fights and five of seven overall dating back to April 2012.

His knockout loss to Glover Teixeira at UFC on FOX 19 this past April was certainly no good, but the fight with Kelly marked the first time in Evans’ career that he lost to a fighter ranked outside the top 10. Inactivity has plagued “Suga” in recent years with only three fights in more than three years, and in Evans’ mind one of the keys to turning things around is to stay active and get his groove back.

“You don’t want to sit and overthink every little thing because you can’t figure it all out,” Evans told “The Luke Thomas Show” on SiriusXM Rush 93. “The best thing to do is get back out there and to fight again and to find that competitive rhythm and find that flow. Once you find that flow it’s like, ‘Ah, yeah, this is my flow. This is my routine. This is what I need to do because this is the kind of fighter I am, this is the kind of competitor I am.’

“When you find a competitive mojo, then it’s easy to rattle off a couple wins and fulfill the potential. When you don’t have that competitive rhythm it’s hard.”

Evans is trying not to overanalyze his situation, but the result at UFC 209 is certainly worrisome. Evans’ run from winning “The Ultimate Fighter 2” to becoming UFC champion was remarkable, but since the injuries began to pile up, he hasn’t been quite the same dynamic, threatening presence.

At 37, that version of Evans might be gone forever. However, that’s something he said he’s still in the process of figuring out and he’s not ready to give up yet. Evans still feels he has the potential to win fights at a high level, and although that hasn’t happened since a first-round TKO of Chael Sonnen at UFC 167 in November 2013, Evans isn’t ready to quit attempting to get back to that place.

He said he wants a chance to make that happen as soon as possible.

“I’ve got to get this off me,” Evans said. “I’ve got to get this loss off me. I know I’m better than this. I know I’m a better competitor than this, and I want to go out there and fight as much as I can. That’s just the truth of the matter. I’m 37 years old and I don’t know how long my body is going to hold out to do what I love to do.

“I want to compete as much as I can until I can’t compete anymore. And when I can’t compete anymore, I can’t compete anymore. But at the end of the day, I still feel like I can compete, and that’s what I want to do. I want to compete.”

For complete coverage of UFC 209, check out the UFC Events section of the site.