Rashad Anton Evans was born on 25 September 1979, in Niagara Falls, New York State USA. He is a mixed martial artist, best known for being a fighter under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and for being the Heavyweight winner of the show “The Ultimate Fighter 2”; all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Rashad Evans? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $8.5 million, mostly earned through a successful career in mixed martial arts. He was a previous Light Heavyweight champion, and has won numerous awards throughout his career. He also has a background in amateur wrestling, and all of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Rashad Evans Net Worth $8.5 million
Rashad started to become known while attending Niagara-Wheatfield High School, where he wrestled and made it to the state finals tournament of New York twice. In 1999, he competed in the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships, earning 4th place, but the following year he would become champion of the tournament in the 165 pound weight class. Afterwards, Rashad moved to the NCAA Division 1, competing for Michigan State, and in 2002 he finished in fourth place fighting against several future UFC fighters. The following year, he would earn a third place finish, notably facing National Champion Greg Jones who only had four losses in his college career.
As part of his mixed martial arts training, Evans trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Gaidojutsu, and he also has a background in karate. In 2004, Evans tried his hand at professional mixed martial arts, winning his first five bouts, which led to him being selected for the reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter”. Evans was considered an underdog through most of his fights, but he would make it to the finals defeating Brad Imes via a split decision. The win would allow him a three-year six figure contract with UFC which significantly boosted his net worth.
After the show, he decided to drop to the light heavyweight class, with his first fight against “The Ultimate Fighter” semi-finalist Sam Hoger. He won the fight via split decision and would then fight against Stephan Bonnar, getting a majority decision victory. After three months, he was set to fight Jason Lambert who was on a winning streak, but Rashad would win, knocking out Lambert during the second round. His next fight would be against newcomer Sean Salmon who had success in college wrestling. Evans managed to kick Salmon in the head during the second round, winning the fight via knockout. He then fought against former Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, and the judges scored the fight to a draw. The two were rematched, but due to scheduling issues, it wouldn’t happen until after four years, and in the meantime, Evans fought Michael Bisping, winning by split decision and then achieved a surprise victory by defeating former champion Chuck Lidell. In 2008, Evans would go on against Forrest Griffin for the Light Heavyweight title, knocking out the champion to earn the belt.
During his first title defense, he would fight against Lyoto Machida, and it would end with Evans getting knocked out by a flurry of punches, suffering the first loss of his career, and Machida’s 15th straight win. After the loss, Evans fought Thiago Silva, this time displaying his newly developed grappling and takedown skills. After a few more fights, Evans was set to fight Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and they eventually fought in April 2012 after several delays with Evans losing via unanimous decision. After a few more fights, he sustained a leg injury that side-lined him indefinitely. He eventually returned to fight in October 2015, losing the fight.
For his personal life it is known that Evans has two children from his ex-wife LaToya(2007-12). He also has another daughter from a previous relationship and a son from his current one. Aside from his fights, he also does a bit of endorsement work.
