Evans says nightmare gave him needed wake-up call

By Andy Samuelson

Saturday, June 6, 2009 | midnight

Long before his nightmare became a reality on May 23, Rashad Evans knew something wasn’t right for his fight against Lyoto Machida.

“I couldn’t even get any sleep before my fight,” said Evans, the former UFC light heavyweight champ who addressed media members Tuesday for the first time since his setback to Machida, promoting his role as one of the coaches on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

“Usually you have that down time before you have to report. And I was trying to sleep, but every time I slept, I lost in my dream,” continued Evans, who lost his belt to the karate expert via a second-round knockout at UFC 98.

“I was like ‘(expletive), I keep losing in my dreams and I never lose in my dreams.’”

Before facing the Brazilian, Evans had never lost in 19 mixed martial arts fights.

While Evans said he did his best to psyche himself out of those negative thoughts, right down to his walk toward the Octagon, he admits there were several factors before the fight that he could have handled differently.

“I guess I really didn't understand what it meant to have the title, even just preparing for the fight,” he said. “I don't think I really prepared myself for what it was really going to be like or what it really meant to be in that position. Just dealing with the pressures of having everybody just pulling at your time and staying grounded, staying true to yourself, what got you to the belt — I didn't do any of those things.

“I'm a very, very basic person, and everything just got really, really complicated and it caused a lot of problems.”

Evans said he felt like he could just flip a switch once the fight started and be fine. Even as Machida started forcing the action and hitting him in the face, the reality of the moment hadn’t set in for the former Michigan State wrestler.

“I remember I was getting hit, and I’m like, ‘I’m OK, I’m OK,’” he said. “I get back up to my feet and he’s throwing punches and I’m seeing them come at me. I was like, ‘ah, he doesn’t even hit hard.’ He’s hitting me, and I’m like, ‘man, you hit like a (expletive).’

“Next thing you know, I’m knocked out. And I’m awake the whole time I’m knocked out. I’m just like, ‘man, I can’t move my body. I think I’m knocked out. I’m snoring. (Expletive) I’m knocked out.’ I’ve never had that happen before.”

Nor does he want to have it happen again, hence the quick turnaround to his former stomping grounds on "TUF."

“I got my ass whooped, so, I was like, you know what, I could sit in the dark and cry myself to sleep every night, or I can do something about it,” said a grinning Evans, the winner of the second season of Spike TV’s popular reality show.

“I don't think that I could just sit back and go through day-to-day life right now and sit back and not do anything. I have to do something right now to help me get over what happened.”

That something will eventually be a showdown with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who doesn’t hide his disdain for Evans.

Evans shrugged off the duo’s face-to-face smack-talking session after Jackson’s win over Evans' good friend, Keith Jardine, at UFC 96. But he said if Jackson wants to make things personal, he’ll treat the situation the same way.

“I think he needs to lighten up a little. I don’t think he should think, ‘Oh, he got up in my face,’” Evans said. “I think it was mutual.

“He thinks he’s bad, I think I’m bad and we’ll see.”

Evans certainly won’t lose any sleep over Jackson’s disparaging comments; he’s already learned that lesson.

“I think that me losing was probably one of the best things for me just because it helped me see a lot of things clearer,” Evans said. “But it's sad that you got to lose consciousness to get awakened.”

Andy Samuelson can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7837.