Tweets Confirm Evans-Jackson Split

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Rashad Evans appears to have cut ties with longtime trainer Greg Jackson.

Evans on Sunday let his displeasure with the popular Albuquerque, N.M.-based coach be known via Twitter, as he outlined his decision to leave the camp with which he has been associated for years. The 31-year-old will likely face former Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts teammate Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship later this year. Jones joined the Jackson stable in 2009.

“Greg brought this situation about,” Evans wrote. “He brought Jones on board a while back against my wishes [and] here we [are] today. I decided [to] leave Greg because I felt like he didn’t have my best interest anymore. Greg is not the same coach he [used to be].”

Under Jackson’s direction, the once-beaten Evans became one of the world’s premier mixed martial artists at 205 pounds. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner captured the light heavyweight championship in a technical knockout victory over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, only to relinquish it five months later in a brutal knockout defeat to Lyoto Machida. Evans has not lost since, posting decision victories over Thiago Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Evans was originally scheduled to meet Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the light heavyweight crown in the UFC 128 main event on Saturday, but a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the event and opened the door for Jones. With Jackson in his corner, Jones annihilated Rua en route to a third-round TKO and became the youngest UFC champion in history.

“Many of [you have] probably already seen that I got offered the title shot [and] decided [to] take it,” Evans wrote. “[Jones] fought amazing! I’m very happy [for] him! With that said I can’t wait [for] the chance [to] compete against him! I no longer will use Greg Jackson as my coach but we [are] still [cool]!”

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