Rashad Evans should be in the hall before Michael Bisping and the numbers don’t lie.
Recently, the UFC announced that former UFC middleweight champion, Michael “The Count” Bisping would be its next inductee into the Hall of Fame.
Bisping is the first British fighter to become a UFC champion. He will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, joining Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017) and Ronda Rousey (2018). The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000.
This was the year when the rules of mixed martial arts were adopted. Also, inductees must be a minimum age of 35 or have been retired for one year or more.
“It’s hard to have the level of talent needed to compete in UFC for any amount of time, but Michael Bisping was able to have an 11-year career where he became a world champion and won The Ultimate Fighter, not many people can say that,” UFC President Dana White said.
“He also came back and coached The Ultimate Fighter and is now one of the best analysts on our broadcast team. Michael has been a huge part of not only building our brand, but also the sport of mixed martial arts. He absolutely deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame. Congratulations.”
A veteran of 40 professional fights during his 13-year career, Bisping compiled a record of 31-9, while capturing the UFC middleweight title, as well as the Cage Warriors, and Cage Rage light heavyweight titles. During his impressive career, Bisping earned notable victories over UFC Hall of Famer Dan Henderson, former UFC middleweight champions Anderson Silva and Luke Rockhold.
What About Rashad Evans?
Many MMA fighters gave Bisping their props while stating that Rashad Evans also needed to be in the HOF. Almost immediately after Bisping’s induction was announced, former UFC fighters like Eddie Alvarez and Anthony “Rumble Johnson clamored for Evans induction.
Evans is a former light heavyweight champion that had an undefeated career through winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 and championship. He defeated Bisping at UFC 78 before becoming the light heavyweight champion at UFC 92 with a TKO win over Forrest Griffin.
And like Tyron Woodley, Evans felt the sting of racial polarization while fighting for the UFC. His famous bout against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 114 birthed the “black-on-black” comparison. Evans accused Jackson of being an “Uncle Tom”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGCbD4HzmD/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=2jk2zehp24w4
The deep differences between fighters of color’s promotional methods began to be explored. After five back-to-back losses, Evans hasn’t competed since UFC 225, June 9th, 2018.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt__7mwhPy7/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=b24c5cc4rdvn
Later that month on June 25th, 2018, Evans announced his retirement from MMA. He also has had off and on stints as a UFC commentator.
Bisping will be inducted on July 5th in a ceremony in Las Vegas. However, ahead of the ceremony, respected fighters are taking to the internet, creating a Kanye West to Taylor Swift VMA’s moment with Michael Bisping in the middle.
Dana White’s twitter mentions are probably going crazy, and they are all about putting some “respeck” on Rashad Evans’ name.
