It looks like Vitor Belfort isn’t the only one turning down fights.
Rashad Evans emphatically dismissed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White's idea that he and Belfort go toe-to-toe after the outspoken Las Vegas, Nevada,-based mixed martial arts (MMA) boss suggested the fight because "The Phenom" wasn't interested in a Middleweight bout against Strikeforce import Tim Kennedy.
"Suga" and Belfort are both members of "The Blackzilians," forging a bond that isn't worth losing over a 15-minute match inside the Octagon. That's because, according to the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, it's a tumultuous road he doesn't want to navigate again after the Jon Jones fallout.
He explained (via ESPN):
"I won't fight Vitor, I won't fight Thiago Silva. I won't fight Cezar "Mutante" Ferreira. I won't fight anybody who I train with! I made that mistake before, and I won't do that again. I lost a lot of relationships because I did that before."
After vowing to never fight one another, Evans and Jones -- who were former Jackson-Winkeljohn stablemates -- eventually found themselves locked inside the Octagon at UFC 145 after "Bones" had a sudden change of heart.
It was dramatic situation, with Evans taking is as a personal attack and going out of his way to alert fight fans that Jones was nothing more than a "fraud and a fake." Jones went on to defeat Evans via unanimous decision, but the spirited competition never healed their fractured relationship
Lesson learned.
And while White says he has yet to get a response from Belfort concerning the Evans fight, it's safe to say "The Phenom" -- who is already on White's last nerve -- will decline the match, too.