Rashad Evans will once again headline a UFC pay-per-view fight card as he will meet former Pride and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 161 on June 15th in Winnipeg.
The fight between Evans and Henderson was not scheduled to be the main event of the fight card but the fight was moved to the main event when Renan Barao pulled out of the card with an injury.
Evans (17-3-1) has faced some of the best light heavyweight fighters during his UFC career and is excited to take on another former champion.
“I had a chance to compete against some of the best mixed martial artists of all-time,” Evans said in his UFC 161 pre-fight interview. “Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, [Lyoto] Machida, Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Jon Jones, now Dan Henderson. I’m excited about the opportunity to fight Dan Henderson.”
Henderson (29-9) has a wrestling background but is known for his powerful right hand that is known as “The H Bomb.” Evans knows what Henderson can do if that right hand lands and will be looking to take the fight to the ground on multiple occasions.
“I know what I want to do to get the results that I want to get. Trust in myself and gettin’ it done. Takedown, ground and pound, roll up our sleeves, and get dirty and go to work. I’m gonna try to get 50 takedowns this fight. 50. If get him down on the ground, I want to ground and pound him until he’s done.”
“Dan’s right hand is very dangerous. He knocks everybody out with it, hard. He just knocks them the hell out and they sleep for a long time. I don’t think it’ll be a mistake to trade with him, I’ve got some power too. Let’s not confuse this whole situation. I’m not going to go in there and stand in front of him and try to bang it out and hope to God I don’t get hit with that big right hand.”
Evans enters this fight on a two fight losing streak with his losses coming against Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. For this fight with Henderson, Evans stated that ne needs to fight smart and will not be knocked out by Henderson.
“I’m going to be smart. He’s gonna want to knock me out. It’s not gonna happen. He’s not knocking me out. I’m not going anywhere. I may have stumbled a little bit, fell down, but I get myself back up, dust myself off. I’m a top competitor. I deserve a chance to fight for the belt.”