MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Rashad Evans Explains Decision to Fight Again, Talks Jon Jones' Chances at Heavyweight

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans joins the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer to discuss his return from retirement, why he called it a career in the first place and what led to his decision to fight again. Evans will also address how long his comeback might actually last as he approaches his upcoming fight at Eagle FC 44 at 42 years of age. Finally, Evans will give his thoughts on the current reign of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and whether or not he’s surpassed Georges St-Pierre as the greatest of all time in the division as well as his thoughts on Jon Jones moving to heavyweight and if he can become champion there after his long reign on top of the 205-pound division. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. Follow Rashad Evans @SugaRashadEvans Follow Damon Martin @DamonMartin Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Welcome back to another edition of the Fighter versus the Writer, and this week I am happy to welcome in a guest who really needs no introduction. He is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. He is making his return to action and return from retirement at Eagle FC 44 on January 28th. Here is my conversation with former UFC light heavyweight champion, Sugar Rashad Evan. Damon Martin MMA fighting here with one of the all-time grades, the UFC Hall of Famer, the 4th. former light heavyweight champion and the man who will make his return to action at Eagle FC 44 in just a couple weeks time welcome in sugar Rashad Evans Rashad how are you?

I am great man I am great sore but I'm great. Yeah it's that good sore though right because you got a fight coming up. Yeah yeah it's a good sore you know to kind of feel like you uh you did something that kind of sore yeah absolutely so Rashad we spoke last year you were already talking about coming out of retirement you're already talking about booking a fight at that point you were looking to maybe doing a boxing match. You told me that, you know, MMA is possible. You just weren't sure you wanted to put your body through that again. Boxing would be a different kind of thing. And here you are back in MMA. So what happened? What changed? What led to this fight? Just more or less

opportunities more than anything, you know, and I've been training more doing the MMA stuff, you know, getting Greg Hardy ready to fight. And I got a few other guys in a stable that I've been training with. And that's what I do every day. So I'm like, you know, if I'm doing it every single day, I might as at least get paid for it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, and now, again, Eagle FC's coming up. You know, Habib is starting the organization.

We've seen the way they're building this card. It's huge. And they just signed Kevin Lee. I mean, they're making some big moves here. But what was it about them that made you want to work there versus, I'm sure you could have sought out offers from, you know, Bellator or PFL, whatever you want to do? I mean, obviously, you're Rashad Evans.

So what was it about Eagle FC that made you want to go there? You know, I really want, you know, like what Habib was doing. You know, I really like what they did with the space and where they want to take it and stuff like that, the vision that they have, and ego. And, you know, to fight for somebody who's a former fighter and still have that mindset, still has pulse on what a fighter needs, with something that appealed to me as well. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

So let's backtrack Rashad, because I know, I want to say it was like maybe like a year and a half, two years ago, we first heard the rumors that maybe you were thinking about coming out of retirement. but, you know, I know you started training, you started working with guys, started coaching. Did you have it in your mind? Like, was it always, were you always resolved to say, hey, I am going to fight again? Or was it always about the right timing, the right opportunity? It was always about the right timing, the right opportunity. You know, I've been, you know, ever since I've retired, I've been, you know, making my way back to MMA as far as, like, you know, my love for it and the feeling that I had for it when I originally started.

because towards the end of my career, I just kind of fizzled out to the point where, you know, I really didn't want to be in there. I didn't really want to, I wasn't really connected to the fight, you know, and I really wasn't,

you know, bringing forth the part of myself that I know I can bring forth. So it was, it was a bittersweet towards the end of my career in the UFC, but, you know, through the years of training afterwards,

I started to find that love again for fighting and fight for MMA. So I was like, you know what, let me just, let me just, let me just, do it one more time for the one time. Yeah. So let me ask you about that because we hear this all,

we hear this quite often, you know, when you get, you know, to a certain point, I want to, you know, I don't want to be going to, or just, you know, getting tired of being, you know, we've heard this before. You're not the first guy, of course, to go through this. When you retired, like, was that pretty much what led to the retirement more than, like, you really truly feeling like you were done, if that makes sense? Yeah, that's what led to retirement. You know, I didn't feel like I could really bring it mentally anymore. You know, you know, it was, because being a fighter, it's, uh, being ready physically is one thing, but being ready mentally is a whole other thing in itself. And, you know, having the right

why you're doing it is, uh, it's very important. And you get out when you don't, when you don't when you don't, you know, have that focus on why you're doing it, you can kind of get lost in a sauce of it all. And, um, you know, if you're not connected with the sport, then it's very hard to do because the nerves of it, you know, what you're getting ready to do, it starts to really, you know, weigh on you in a different kind of way when you're not connected to the sport.

Yeah. So give me the why now. For Rashad Evans in 2022, what is the why now? You know, for me, it's been, it's been, you know, for, because it's like, I try not to bring the world into, you know,

into the way I see things in life for the most part, you know, when it comes to doing things like this. But the way things are just, you know, with everything to happen with COVID and things that are still going on, going on with COVID as far as like, you know, all the different restrictions and all the things that we're being subjected to, it almost feels as if like we're running out of time to do the things that we truly want to do because every single time, every single day we inch closer and closer to, you know, having more restrictions put on us. And, you know, a lot of lot of people don't like to talk about it, a lot of people don't like to think about it,

but the reality of the situation is when you look at other countries, you know, they're on lockdown and, you know, some of them are facing some, some crazy, drastic measures. And when you look at the roadmap of where the road is headed, the world is headed, it just doesn't seem like there's going to be a world that allows, you know, this freedom of expression. So for someone that is, is, that truly loves this as a freedom of expression, if I can just do it one more time than I wanted to do it. Yeah. So you said that a couple times one more time.

I was going to ask you this question, so it's a perfect segue. Is this one? Is it one and done? You're coming back fighting Gabriel Checo and that's it? Because I know how that hunger goes, Rashad. I know how that you get that fire and you go out there. It's like having a chicken nugget or something. You have one.

There's no way you can stop. You got to have two. You know what I mean? Like, so is this really one and done? Or is it one and let's see what happens? It's one and let's see what happens. You know, I just don't want to, you know, I mean, I'm 42 years old, you know what I'm saying? And, you know, I'm not to the point where I'm disillusioned to the point we're thinking I'm going on, you know, another five years of being able to compete at this level, at the highest level, you know.

You know, I'm competing against some guys who are a lot younger and, you know, have different ambitions on where they want to be in the fight game. So it's different, you know, I'm working at a disadvantage here in that sense. but at the same time, you know, I do enjoy it and I do want to go out there and, you know, still show what I got. You know, beyond your fight career, Rashad, and we've talked many times over the years of you being an analyst, you know, being an analyst working in the broadcast booth, you understand the sport, you analyze the sport. Did any of that play a part in when you decided to come back? What I mean by that is, you know, you're asked often, like when you do analyst stuff for the UFC, they'll say, man, he's had a bad outing, he's had this run. like do you think this guy should walk away you think this guy should retire you know the conversation

you've had those conversations with other fighters did you have that in your own head in your own mentality saying I'm making the right decision coming back because you have a little different mind about it because you do have that analytical mind versus just the fighter mind yeah you know um yeah

I can see what you saying um you know for me uh for my for me to come back was just more or less uh just that just that deep hunger. You know, I really, I really needed to feel that hunger to compete again. You know, it's a certain kind of hunger that just doesn't go away with training, you know, and it's something that keeps you up at night as far as like the interest in wanting to watch fights and, you know, doing all the things that that really make you a champion and separate you from the rest of the crowd. You know, when I first started fighting, I couldn't get another fight. And that's all I wanted to

consume everything fighting. I was watching all kinds of videos. And I was watching all kinds of videos. all kind of fights. And, you know, when that feeling came back and the hunger came back to, to compete and it wasn't satiated with training or anything like that, then I knew that, okay, I might, I definitely still want to do this and I still have the capability of doing this. So I just want to see, you know, see what happened if I do it again. Yeah. You said that you've acknowledged, you know, you're 42 now.

You're not the guy necessarily chasing a UFC title, let's say. not that's not necessarily the goal. Is this more personal for you, though, in terms of, like, what goals or aspirations you have coming back? Like, again, because you've done so much, you're a UFC Hall of Famer, you know what I mean? So, like, when it comes down to it, you know, are you thinking about, you know, well, hey, if I do this, this could happen, or is it just about one at a time having fun and

doing this really kind of, I know it sounds weird saying selfishly, but like, just doing it for you. Yeah, that's exactly it. I'm just doing it for me. And that's, and that's what. This whole journey from when I retired has been about, you know, my whole experiences and everything, the journey that I've been on,

just finding myself again outside of the sport, you know, it was really about just me getting back to me and competing from that place where I've come to learn myself from, you know, because I feel as if like, you know, when I was competing, you know, I started out one way, but then just getting caught and getting, you know,

being part of the flip. of things and just kind of, you know, getting caught in the whole, the whole fame of it all and all those different kind of things. You kind of lose a part of yourself that that's there when you first started. You know, that the one that enjoys every single part of it and really just yearns to do it on a different level.

You know, I lost connection with that part. And now I'm feeling like I'm to the point where I'm there again, where I really, really love it again. And it's just like, you know, know, I'm in love with fighting again, and that's exciting, that's fun for me. And I, and I enjoy the process of getting my body, but most importantly, getting my mind ready to go against another human being. Yeah. And this time you get Gabriel Checo, of course, he's more of a submission

specialist, not, he doesn't have the name you have, Rashad, so of course, coming into it, a lot of people are going to be, you know, all eyes on you. And I think pretty much anybody you would have fought, it would have been the same kind of thing. But what do you, what do you know about him? And is there always an inherent danger with a guy like this? Because we got to be honest, he's got nothing to lose. Like, he's fighting the guy who is a former champion, a legend, all those kind of things. And, you know, not a lot of people know his name that well.

I mean, he's fought some good competition, but he's not a star, let's say. Yeah, I mean, there's always a lot of danger when you're going to get somebody like this because, you know, you know, I'm his Super Bowl. I'm his big fight. You know, I'm his big chance to further his career in any direction. And whatever he can do to me is something that

you know, is going to further him in a big way in his career. So, you know, I know that he's coming in there with that. And, you know, one thing I said about, you know, competing is you never want to step into the cage where somebody, you know, where they're hungrier than you are. You know, so being able to find that hunger, being able to say, okay, this is what this guy's coming in with. He's coming in a hunger as hell. And I got to match that hunger because I'm not trying to be anybody's food.

You know what I'm saying? So that's what it's been about for me, is just making sure that I'm mentally bringing myself to the point where I'm like him. I'm looking at him as the opportunity for me to further myself, you know? And once I, you know, once you mentally make that switch,

it's just the best man wins at night. But at the end of the day, I can't go in there being worried about, you know, what if he does this, what if he does that? You know, it's a fight. And anything can happen in a fight. And, you know, it's a battle of the will. And that's what that's what it all comes down to is whose will is going to be imposed that night, you know?

Is it going to be my will or am I going to have his will get imposed on me? And I refuse to have it the other way around. So for me, I've just been just trying to harness my will and just trying to harness my mindset to be ready to go against somebody who's looking at me as if they're trying to make a name off them off me. Yeah. Now, I know that, you know, this is probably going to be a question better served on, let's say, January 29th as opposed to today. but when we spoke last time, you mentioned the interest you had in pursuing a boxing fight

against a Logan Paul or maybe now even a Jake Paul potentially out there. Again, assuming everything goes well, you know, in Eagle FC, is boxing still a possibility for you? Yeah, boxing is still a possibility. You know, that's something I always want to do. That would be something on my bucket list,

something fun to do. But, I mean, you know, Damon, it's like, I'm, you know, I'm just taking it one at a time at this point, you know? and I'll see how I feel January 29th, but, you know, as it stands right now, I'm willing to test myself to the limits, you know? I mean, I feel like at this point in my life, why not?

Yeah, absolutely. Now, I know outside of your own fighting career, as you've been training, you've also been coaching a lot. Last time we spoke, you talked about the work you've been doing Greg Hardy and your team down in Florida. Now, the timing of this is really weird because Greg's fight is on the 22nd in January out in California, and then you've got your fight on the 28th out in Miami.

So are you going to corner him in his fighter? How's that working? Because I know you guys have created a pretty close bond as coach and fighter. Yeah, I'm going to be there for him. I'm going to be there for him. His last fight, I tested positive for COVID, so I wasn't able to go for that fight.

And it really hurt me not to be there. You know, Greg is somebody that I care dearly about, and I've gotten to know over the last couple years and it's been, you know, a very cherished relationship. So if I can be there for him to let him know that, you know, you got this, then I'm going to do it. And I'm going to be there for him. So you're going to go to the fight in California

and fly back to Miami. And thankfully, your fights are light heavy weights. So you're not cutting as much weight going down the middle weight. So hopefully it won't be that brutal for you, right? No, I won't be brutal. I'm pretty close right now. So I'll be good. Yeah.

I know you've really embraced coaching. And again, when you coach, that kind of brings back a different kind of fire for you as well. And I know we spoke about that last time. When it's all said and done, Rashad, and, you know, when you do decide to be done with fighting, whenever that is, let's say a year from now, two years from now, whenever that is, do you feel like you're going to make an even bigger mark in coaching, considering all the knowledge you can pour into these guys? And I know you've already started to kind of create that bond and that relationship with the fighters work with you already.

Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. I hope that my coaching would be, you know, the biggest aspect of who Rashad Evans is because what I've learned in the last few years with just coaching is just that the feeling of being able to give yourself on that level and being able to help somebody further their career is a blessing that keeps on giving, you know, being able to watch Carmo Usman, you know, become who he is, you know, and where he started from. and my, you know, my involvement in that, it makes me so proud, you know,

and when I see him go out there and compete, it's like, I keep winning too, you know? So it's a gift that keeps on paying. And, you know, if I can do that for many other athletes, then that'll be a beautiful thing. Yeah, now you mentioned Camaro. Last time we spoke, I put you on the hot seat and I made you talk about Camaro versus your boy, George St. Pierre. Now, since we spoke, Camaro's going to be a lot of the hot seat. gone out and defended this title, I think, once or twice more since we spoke last time.

Incredible 2021, I think everybody ranked him to Fighter of the Year. And I know it breaks your heart, but I'm asking that question again, now that we're kind of a little bit past it. Is Camaro now the goat for you, Rashad? Has he moved into that goat position in the Walterweight Division? He's definitely moved in that goat position. You know, it's kind of weird to say because in my mind, he's always little bro, but, you know, he's definitely

you know he's a monster out there and his work ethic is is second to none you know the way that he works his mindset bringing himself ready to compete is really something to behold and to watch him to be the athlete he is right now is

amazing and to see where he's willed himself to be is you know twice amazing for me so yeah he's the go for me yeah I know I know it hurts because I know George is your boy and I know you always love George. And what George has done is, listen, take nothing away. What George did in his career is unbelievable. But I'm with you.

And it's not a knock on George. I think it's actually a compliment to George and say, man, it took somebody like Kamar Uspan to make me think somebody could surpass George St. Pierre. I mean, I think it's a compliment in a way. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you know, George, George always holds a special place in my heart, you know, just because, you know, not only was he a great fighter, but just who he is as a

person. You know, George is one of the most amazing people that I know in the fight game inside and outside the cage. And, you know, that that's another thing that, you know, just makes George just that dynamic of a person. You know, he's not somebody who handles people. You know, he treats everybody, not even just the people that he's, he's, you know, friends with or have status. He treats people like, like amazing. You know what I'm saying? Just random people. and that just goes to show like he's a champion inside the cage, but he's even bigger champion outside. Yeah, absolutely.

Talk about people you've worked with, Rashad. And I know we've had this conversation before. I remember several years ago when he was going through a lot. You talked about, you know, you actually sent well wishes. You probably remember the conversation we had about John Jones when he was kind of going through some tough times. And you said, you know, I root for him to come back. I root for him to get things together.

I'm not going to ask you about anything outside the cage, but I'm curious, as a guy who's done it, As a guy who's fought in multiple weight classes, you know how hard it is. You fought it heavyweight on the ultimate fighter. You fought a light heavyweight became a champion and you fought it middleweight. You know what that's like. I'm curious as a guy who knows John and knows heavyweight. You work with a massive one right now in Greg Hardy.

That is a big heavyweight guy. How do you think John's going to do it heavyweight? Because there's been a lot of debate about that. I mean, I think he's, I've said it to a lot of people. I think he's the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. But, you know, when you're getting hammers thrown at you by guys like Francis and Gano, you know, that, you can be the most. talented guy in the world and still take a shot from that guy.

And it doesn't matter. All the talent goes flying out the windows. So I'm curious how you think John will do it heavyweight? I think John is going to do really well. And I think so because, you know, you just, I'm just watching the way George, John is preparing himself. You know, John has really taken his time to, you know, put on the size, but not only put on the size, acclimate his body in every single facet to be a heavyweight. You know, he's really, really taken the steps and he's really been a student.

about it as well too. You know, he's out now he's out there working with, you know, Henry Sohudo and working with, you know, some of, some of the great top wrestlers out there that Henry Suhudo brings. And, you know, these are the kind of things that's going to make John once again, you know, separate from the pack, you know? So I think that John can do really, really well at heavyweight.

But, I mean, it's all about, you know, can John really hope? it together to make sure that the outside distractions don't mess with what he's got going on in the cage. Because, I mean, you know, John is one of the fighters who I have so much tremendous respect for when it comes to competing as an athlete because of the fact that, you know, he's a great fighter, but not only that, he goes in there when he's, you know, dealing with a lot in his personal life. And it takes a lot to not allow what's going on in your personal life to affect how you fight inside the, you. Octagon and he does a really good job of managing that. So I think that John can do a really good job just if he just keeps himself, you know, locked in to what he's doing and focus on on fighting, you know,

and not, you know, get himself caught up in any kind of situations where, you know, it can really distract him from making his heavyweight debut and really being what he can be in the heavyweight division. Yeah. Do you think John has the capability? I mean, I assume we all agree, probably he does, but do you believe when you look at the lay of the land at heavyweight and the UFC, he could be champion?

Yeah, I think he can't be champion. I think he can be champion. I think that, you know, there are some aspects of the fight game at heavyweight that he's going to have to get used to. And part of that is just the power aspect, you know, you know, defensively he's going to have to be a little bit more responsible. I feel like at light heavyweight towards the last few fights, you know, he kind of was a little bit more defensively.

lacks than he was and getting hit a little bit more than he was in previous fights. And, you know, those kind of shots being taken from, you know, somebody like Francis and Ghana, could be a problem for John. But, you know, John, like I call him, it's Teflon John. You know what I'm saying?

John finds a way to get through anything, man. I love it. I love it. Last thing I want to touch on real quick before I get you out of, Rashad, you know, you talked about it when you did Joe Rogan's podcast, and I saw, I know John Hopkins is doing it with the psychedelics. in combat sports.

I remember, I'm sure you saw the special that ran on real sports. I think it was last year. They talked to Ian McCall, Dean Lister, guys like that. I know you've been an advocate for that, and I looked up the John Hopkins study, and you actually had a video on there. I was like, hey, there's Rashah, doing a video on here.

I'm curious your take on this, how much of an influence that's been because we've heard so much about this. And I've talked to some of the guys since that special came out, how much of a difference that's made in terms of recovery, brain recovery, all those kind of things.

and I know you've kind of become an advocate for it. Yeah, you know, I'll be honest. You know, I'll say the mushrooms have really transformed me in so many different ways and being in healed my brain. You know, I was suffering from kind of issues where, you know, I was nervous about what was going to happen after I got done from fighting because in New York I had a situation where I didn't get approved and it was found that I had some damage to the frontal lobe or something like that.

And, you know, they had to go through my old MRIs and check out to see if it was anything new and stuff like that. But lo and behold, it was something that happened before I was even, you know, in the UFC. And it was on my previous MRIs. But once I got done from fighting, it was something that played into my mind like, man, what am I going to do? I don't want to have to, you know, be developing these CTE, symptoms or having these kind of problems. So I really started to look in different ways to heal my brain. And when I started to look into mushrooms and I've seen the neurogenesis and the neuroplasticity that happens when you do the mushrooms, I really got interested, you know, and I started to learn more about, you know, the great things that mushrooms have been able to do. You know, I know a guy who was paralyzed in a skiing accident and, you know, he couldn't walk.

And he did some mushrooms just, you know, on some recreational stuff. stuff. And then he found that, you know, he had sensation and feeling and where he didn't have before and his paralysis in his legs and things like that. And eventually, because of that, you know, he started using psilocybin when he was doing his therapy and he eventually learned how to walk again. And what happened was, you know, the doctors told him that, you know, the mushrooms found a way to rewire the circuitry so that he was able to learn to walk, you know. So it was, you know, that's the kind of the amazing things that the mushrooms can do. What it does for the neural circuits in the body is just absolutely amazing.

And I feel like we're in a time right now where, you know, our nervous system, you know, there really isn't much talked about, you know, how do you treat the nervous system, you know, what neurohealth is and things like that. And I think when it comes to being on the forefront and when it comes to finding ways to treat neural health, I think there's nothing that's better than mushrooms. And not only psilocybin, but functional mushrooms as well. I'm talking about lions, man. I'm talking about turkey tail, Rishi and all those different kind of, you know, adaptogenic mushrooms. Those are the kind of mushrooms that I feel can really help people out in so many different ways. A matter of fact,

even speaking about mushrooms, me, Jake Plummer, Jake the Snake quarterback Plummer, and my friend, my friend Del Jolly, we started a company called Unbo, which sells functional mushrooms. Oh, that's amazing. That's amazing. And I know, you know, I talked earlier about, also I got to say

Jake Plummer, of course, I'm in Ohio State. I always remember the Rose Bowl with Jake Plummer and the Rose Bowl, Ohio State. Got to take scoreboard on Jake. I'm sorry, Ohio State won that game. But no, we talk about, you know, you coming back, and I kind of, when I said selfish, I just mean like this is for you coming back, but you're a dad. I know you're a father, you're a devoted father. When you're coming back to fighting, you know, you think about

all those things. How much would you say, you know, fighting and discovering, you know, the mushrooms and doing the psychedelics, did that give you confidence and coming back to fight? Like, I imagine that's got to play a part, right? Like, in terms of you thinking about the whole picture, because as a dad, I know you would never want to do anything that would jeopardize your ability to be a dad. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, the mushroom played a huge part in it. You know, honestly, it was kind of the way that, that I healed myself on so many different levels in order for me to come to a place where I feel like I can't compete again. You know, I felt like before the competitor in me was broken, in a sense, you know, and I kind of

lost that desire, lost that way. You know, it was like the flame that was ignited before for so long, was just went out and it was diminished. And I kind of felt it going slowly and slowly. But, you know, through my journey within my last few years and ever since I've been, you know, dealing myself with the mushrooms, I've been able to ask myself the hard questions. I've been able to deal with some of the issues that really kept me from being the best that I can be. And then now I feel like I'm in a place where I feel like I can compete and I feel like I've gotten a love back.

But it was through being able to have the perspective to see what I needed to change in my life. Yeah, absolutely. Well, listen, I'm never going to, you know, I'm never going to knock medical science out there in terms of when you have to take drugs to help yourself, not telling anyone not to do that. But I also am a big believer in natural. You know what I mean? That's of the earth. That's things you're taking. And I love that that's become, I love that that's become, you know, such a big thing. Because so much of the nervous system, so much of the brain is still a mystery. You know, even we've been studying it for, you know, hundreds of years and it's still a mystery to so many people. The fact that something like psychedelics are truly helping people. I just think it's amazing because we're not, it's not. It's not. being, you know, it's not being grown in a lab and, you know, being, you know, put together by pharmaceutical companies. It's something of the earth. I love that that's, that's becoming, you know, healing people. I love that's healing people. I love that it helped you and a lot of other people. Yeah, I think, I think that's a great point you make, too, you know, it's from the earth and it's natural and is doing a great job of healing people on so many, on so many different levels. And I think that when it comes to, you know, being able to find a way to seek

neural health, there's really not a lot out there that you can look for when it comes to healing neural health. So to find something in a natural farm like mushrooms is the game changer. And I think in the next few years, we're going to start to see all the amazing things that mushrooms can do because I don't think that we even truly scratch the surface on just the true amazing things that the Mycelium Kingdom can really do. Well, congratulations on the new business. Look forward to hearing more about that. And Rashad, thank you, as always, for taking the time.

You know I appreciate it. Have a great rest of your training camp. Safe travels out to California, then back out to Miami, man. And thank you. Best luck in the fight, man. And hopefully we can catch up afterwards. Yes, absolutely, man. You be blessed, and I appreciate you as well.

All right, Rashad. We'll talk soon, okay? All right, take care. Bye-bye. There you go. Sugar Rashad Evans, big fight coming up, January 28th, Eagle FC. Definitely looking forward to that one.