Long before they became bitter rivals, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones were training partners under the same roof. Both were rising stars. Both were hungry. But only one would become the youngest UFC champion in history.
Now, years later, Evans has pulled back the curtain on the very moment that shaped Jones’s destiny, and it turns out, it wasn’t just fate. It was a door ‘Suga’ himself opened.
On a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Rashad Evans gave fans a rare look behind the scenes of Jon Jones’s iconic rise. According to Evans, he was supposed to face Mauricio Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128. But an injury during training camp changed everything.
Evans stated, “And um Jon was there, you know, we had some great training then and um you know, I end up getting hurt on the mat and I was supposed to fight Shogun. You know, Diego rolled into my knee and uh you know, I wasn’t able to fight.”
At the time, he and Jones were training at the legendary Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque. Jones was preparing to face Ryan Bader at UFC 126, and both men were managed by the same team.
He further shared during the podcast, “He was fighting Ryan Bader at the time, and I was training for Shogun. And then once I got hurt, we were actually being managed by the same team. You know, we’re under the same management. So, uh, he was my stablemate in management, too.”
Then came the conversation that would change UFC history. “UFC asked him if he wanted to fight for the title because I was hurt,” Evans recalled. “He was cool. He was respectful. He was like, ‘Yo, you give me permission to do this?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, yeah.’”
March 4, 2023, Las Vegas, NV, LAS VEGAS, NV, USA: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 4: Jon Jones prepares to fight Ciryl Gane in their Heavyweight fight during the UFC 285 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Las Vegas, NV USA – ZUMAp175 20230304_zsa_p175_246 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
Evans explained the pact between him, Jon Jones, and another fighter at their gym fighting in the same weight class: whoever made it to the title first would go, and the others would step back. He confessed, “And I agreed to that. So when he had a chance, I was like, “Yeah, you got to do it.” So when he did it, it was all cool. I’m like, “Yeah, that’s great.”
That fateful green light from Evans set the wheels in motion. On March 19, 2011, Jon Jones dismantled Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua with a third-round TKO at UFC 128. At just 23 years old, he became the youngest champion in UFC history. Back then, their relationship was still intact.
But as time passed and Jones stayed at Jackson’s, and Evans felt betrayed. The bond they had forged in sweat and sparring began to unravel. Evans soon left Jackson’s and joined the Blackzilians team in Florida. The friendly sparring sessions turned into public jabs.
By the time UFC 145 rolled around, the feud was front and center. Jones defeated Evans by unanimous decision in a fight loaded with tension but lacking the chaos many expected. Afterward, though, things began to cool.
At UFC 172, Jones and Evans were seen talking and laughing backstage. “I honestly missed him, it was weird. I just missed him. The guy was definitely like a role model in a way when I first started off, and I’ll always remember looking up to him.” Jones admitted in an interview at the time. In fact, recently, when Jon Jones announced that he would be retiring from the sport, Rashad Evans even stepped up to defend his former teammate!
Rashad Evans came to Jon Jones’ defense against the “newer generation” of fight fans
Despite their well-documented history, Rashad Evans didn’t hesitate to silence critics who claimed Jones was ducking Tom Aspinall. Speaking to MMA on Sirius XM, Evans acknowledged their past rivalry but insisted that fans today are missing the bigger picture.
According to ‘Suga’, “This newer generation of fight fans, they didn’t get a chance to really enjoy Jon in his prime and get to see how magnificent he was inside of the cage.”
He praised Jones’s “freedom,” “creativity,” and his ability to perform while cheekily pointing to his controversial antics outside the Octagon as “his life is a dumpster fire on the outside.”
Yet, subtle jabs aside, for Evans, it’s not about the unfinished fights; it’s about the legacy. He shared, “But I think that, in time, once this moment passes and there’s more perspective looked at on his career, I think he’ll be held up to be as good, and his accomplishments will stand the test of time.”
So, Jon Jones may have been the one to step into the Octagon at UFC 128 and make history, but the path was paved by Rashad Evans. It was Evans’s injury, his selfless decision, and ultimately, his willingness to honor a pact that cleared the runway for Jones to take off. And now, years after that twist of fate, the rivalry has softened into respect.
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