The Blame Game: Why The Beef Leading Up To UFC 145 Is All Rashad Evans’ Fault

By Raphael Garcia

For the last year we have listened to the finger-pointing and accusations that have come during the Rashad Evans versus Jon Jones and Greg Jackson debacle. Once training partners and close friends, Evans and Jones are mere days away from facing each other in the Octagon for the UFC light heavyweight championship. It’s tough to watch a relationship fall apart in the public eye, but in looking at this situation from the outside, it’s easy to place the blame on Evans for what has transpired.

Step into the time machine and let’s go back to 2010. Rashad Evans had just defeated Quinton Jackson at UFC 114, and earned himself a title shot against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who was recuperating from a knee injury. The bout was set to take place at UFC 128 in New Jersey; however, Evans would suffer a knee injury of his own when a training partner accidentally rolled onto his leg during training. This left Rua without a challenger until UFC 126, where Jones demolished Ryan Bader, submitting him in the second round. During the post-fight interview, Jones was surprised with the announcement that he had been selected to step in for his injured teammate and face Rua six weeks later. At UFC 128 Jones dominated Rua in a fashion never seen before to become the youngest UFC champion to date.

After UFC 128 it was announced that Evans would be leaving Jackson’s team and building a training camp around his own needs in preparation for facing his former teammate for the title. Two injuries — one to Jones, and one to Evans — caused the fight to be changed multiple times, until it was confirmed that the two individuals would face off at UFC 145.

That brings us to where we stand today. For over a year we have heard why Evans believes he was betrayed from the start of things when Jones was brought into Greg Jackson’s MMA team. In numerous interviews he’s talked about how he noticed the talent that was in Jones, but Jackson assured him that they would never be pitted against each other, and that Evans would be the alpha dog in the light heavyweight division. Somewhere along the line that idea changed. In a prefight video on ESPN, Jones states that he and Evans used to train together often but, eventually Evans would begin to come to practice with his own coaches who would coach him against Jones. It was obvious that the relationship had become strained as the hype train behind Jones gained more and more steam.

Looking from the outside in, it’s very difficult not to see Evans as the individual who has caused this whole situation. In an individual sport such as MMA, how could he actually expect a competitor of Jones level to curb his own aspirations in order to maintain Rashad’s ego and “place” in the division? Asking another person who trains with you every day to stay in your shadow is something that should never be practiced in sports, and it seems as if Evans almost treaded into that place.

Before this situation completely blew up, Evans and Jones had raised the ire of UFC President Dana White because they had expressed no interest in fighting each other. They said that they would rather stay friends and be able to enjoy fishing trips together long after their fight careers were over. As Jones continued to surge up the 205 rankings and was given the title shot, Evans even made the statement that he would move to middleweight or heavyweight to continue his career rather than fight against Jones. Where did that sentiment go in order to make room for the animosity that is now festering between these two fighters? Just as in politics, when you flip-flop over an important issue, you will always come out looking bad, and that is exactly what has happened to Rashad Evans during the lead up to this fight.

Then you have to look at the relationship with Greg Jackson. Evans has consistently stated in interviews leading up to the bout that Jackson has turned his camp into a “factory,” and that it is his fault that this situation has occurred. Dana White even went as far as to say that Jackson exploited the situation for money. Yet, for an individual in his position; Jackson’s goal should be to create a team that houses the best athletes in the sport. If Carlos Condit and Georges St. Pierre can both work with Greg Jackson and be considered two of the best in welterweight division, why can’t Jones and Evans coexist? Evans was able to be a part of the team while Keith Jardine was there, but is this because he never truly saw Jardine as a threat to his title?

Evans has placed himself in a precarious position. Once considered the best in the light heavyweight division, he was supplanted by the younger Jones. Instead of quietly finding a way to make the situation work out, he made as much noise as possible during his exit from Jackson’s training team. We may never know the actual truth behind the “he said – she said” aspect of the debate, as both sides have claimed the other have “stretched the truth,” in the words of Jones. Now the time has come for Evans to face off against Jones in what is one of the most anticipated bouts of the entire year.

You may ask who is really to blame for the situation that ended a friendship, as well as the training relationship that created a champion in Rashad Evans. The answer lies in the reflection he sees every time he looks in the mirror.