Dana White: Evans needs surgery on injured knee, he's 'out for a while'
When Rashad Evans hurt his knee on Wednesday forcing him out of his scheduled fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 170, the initial prognosis was four weeks on the sidelines, and they could reschedule the bout for April.
Once Evans actually went into see his doctors on Thursday and get an MRI on his knee, the actual diagnosis was much, much worse.
UFC president Dana White didn't know the severity of the knee injury that Evans suffered when he spoke to the media in Las Vegas on Thursday, but he said it was bad enough that the former light heavyweight champion would be forced into surgery and out of action for a long while.
"Ends up today, Rashad comes back from the doctor. Rashad's screwed. Rashad's not going to be (out) four weeks, he needs f**king surgery. Rashad's out for a while," White said.
From the sound of his description, Evans' knee injury requiring surgery could be bad enough to put him on the shelf for several months, and while White couldn't name what ligaments or muscles may have been damaged, it's not looking good for his immediate future.
"The injury is not good," White said.
As far as how the injury happened, White said Evans wasn't doing anything unusual in training that forced the knee to buckle or suffer undue stress just over a week out from his bout with Cormier. Unlike the past where White has accused some fighters and their training camps of pushing too hard especially just days away from the fight, this time it was just wrong place, wrong time.
"He was doing throws with Cezar Mutante, nothing hardcore, they were just practicing throws and Rashad's foot got caught in the mat and twisted wrong and jacked his knee," White explained.
With Evans sidelined for the foreseeable future, the UFC opted to move ahead with Cormier at UFC 170 against newcomer Patrick Cummins, who steps into the co-main event for next weekend's card. Meanwhile it appears Evans will spend his next few days prepping for surgery as we await final word to find out just how long he will be out of action.
