Rashad Evans wants to get paid.
Unfortunately, the promoters who booked his Rampage Jackson boxing match were unable to meet certain contractual obligations heading into their headlining affair, previously booked for April 12 at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a result, both combatants made the difficult decision to walk away.
“It’s definitely a financial component,” Evans told MMA Fighting. “That’s where things just kind of went off the rails a little bit. We weren’t able to be made whole and appeased before it was time to really to take the next step and really know that everything’s going to be taken care of when the fight is done. The last thing we wanted to do was put ourselves in a situation where we weren’t going to get the money that we were promised after the fight is done.”
Evans, who defeated Jackson at UFC 114, was hoping to avoid a Nate Diaz situation.
The former UFC welterweight was also making the rounds on the boxing circuit and went head-to-head with Jorge Masvidal back in summer 2024. Unfortunately, the Stockton slugger was forced to file suit against Fanmio after getting stiffed for several million dollars.
“It was something that we wanted to make sure that learning from that situation [with Diaz and Masvidal] and making sure that we were taken care and making sure that everything was all met and accounted for before we even stepped into the ring to fight,” Evans continued. “It just wasn’t able to get done in time. They’re still putting this card together, things are still happening so I don’t know if there’s a solution to it and they come with something in the last minute ditch effort, we might be able to make something happen, but as of right now, it’s just not something that we can go through with.”
Evans is hoping to rebook his Rampage fight with a different promoter.
