Published: July 21, 2008 10:16 am            

CELEBRITIES: N-W alum Evans grapples with success

Town of Niagara native Rashad “Sugar” Evans spends hours each in the gym each day in a training regimen he credits for allowing him to maintain an undefeated mixed martial arts record.

That work ethic took time to develop, however, and might not have surfaced if not for some of his coaches back in Niagara County.

The former all-state wrestler at Niagara-Wheatfield High School and Niagara County Community College won the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV, a reality show that netted him a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization.

Now 11-0-1 as a pro fighter, Evans has started training in Albuquerque, N.M., for a Sept. 6 bout against UFC legend Chuck Liddell. Getting him to report to the gym, Evans recalled during a recent phone conversation, wasn’t always easy.

“I really wasn’t committed to wrestling, but he saw the potential in me,” Evans said of longtime Falcons coach Bill Dixon. “I would ditch Saturday practices ... he would always find me no matter what. Sure enough, by 9:30 or 10 o’clock, he would find me and send somebody to come and get me.”

Also a running back and safety on the Falcons football team, Evans was a member of N-W’s 1997 squad that made the state semifinals. He had a tough time putting football behind him, but Dixon’s prodding in addition to the efforts of NCCC wrestling coach Eric Knuutila helped him excel on the mat. He won the National Junior College championship at the 165-pound weight class in 2000 at NCCC, then continued grappling at Michigan State University, where he compiled a 48-34 record.

Many of those skills transfer into MMA, which Evans got into with guidance from veteran fighter Dan Severn. He has yet to lose a bout — his lone draw was against Tito Ortiz — and is set to face Liddell in a pay-per-view bout after several delays.

Evans, who still lives in Michigan State’s base city of Lansing, Mich., with his family, considered MMA a natural next step.

“After I graduated from Michigan State, I was looking to get into something. I was still so competitive,” said Evans, whose MMA aspirations reach higher even than beating Liddell. “My ultimate goal is to be a world champion, and not just be a champion but keep it.”

When he’s not training for UFC domination, Evans enjoys visiting home several times a year, including a return trip he made over the Fourth of July weekend. He admits taking Niagara County for granted when he lived here, but he’s learned to appreciate the Niagara Falls region since leaving.

“A lot of people don’t have that advantage to look out the window or drive a few blocks and see something so beautiful,” he said of the cataract. “I tell them to go check it out. A lot of people who live there forget how beautiful it is.”



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