Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco betting odds, fight info and fan predictions for Eagle FC 44 bout

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco UFC fight info, date and time

Co-main event

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco is set to go down at Eagle FC 44: Kharitonov vs. Spong at 9:30pm EST on Friday 28th January 2022 in a 205lbs matchup.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion and Hall-of-Famer Rashad Evans is making his MMA return after three-and-a-half years away from the sport.

Gabriel Checco will face Evans in the co-main event at Eagle FC 44. Checco is a jiu-jitsu expert with plenty of knockouts on his resume.

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco betting odds

Gabriel Checco is the oddsmakers’ favorite, opening with betting odds of -145. Placing a bet on Checco means you would need to bet $145 in order to win $100.

Rashad Evans opened with +135 betting odds. If you bet $100 on Evans then you would win $135.

Fight information

News of Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco was first broken by ESPN on December 23rd, 2021. Eagle FC officially announced the fight on the same day.

✍️ Dotted line signed @SugaRashadEvans will meet @GabrielChecco at #EagleFC44 | Jan. 28 on @EagleOnFLX! pic.twitter.com/snqN0b3dvk

— Eagle FC (@EagleFightClub) December 23, 2021

The two fighters will be the co-main event at Eagle FC 44 in Miami in this 205lbs matchup.

Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans retired from MMA in 2018 after suffering his 5th loss in a row to Anthony Smith. However, he will come out of retirement at the age of 42 to face Gabriel Checco.

Evans’ last victory was a first-round TKO win against Chael Sonnen back in 2013. He won the UFC Light Heavyweight title in 2008 with a KO win against Forrest Griffin but ended up losing his first defence to Lyoto Machida. 

Gabriel Checco

Gabriel Checco is a submission specialist with a 12-5 record in MMA. He won his last fight against Simon Marini via ground-and-pound TKO in the first round.

Prior to this, Checco lost to UFC Light Heavyweight Jordan “The Beverly Hills Ninja” Wright via KO. Checco has been preparing for this fight with Chute Boxe, the gym of UFC Lightweight champion Charles Oliviera.

How they match up

Rashad Evans will have a significant 3.5-inch reach advantage in this fight with a 75-inch reach. Evans is the older fighter at 42 years old, while Checco is 35. 

Gabriel Checco has maintained a 100% finish rate over his MMA career, with 7 KO’s and 5 submissions. Evans has a 32% finish rate with 7 KO’s and 2 submissions.

Reasons to watch

It will be fascinating to see whether Rashad Evans has still got it. Despite going 0-5 in his last 5 fights, Evans faced some tough opposition and dropped two narrow split decisions.

Gabriel Checco is a jiu-jitsu standout with slick submission skills, capable of ending the fight quickly if it goes to the mat.

The stakes

Rashad Evans has played down the stakes in this fight and isn’t sure what he will do, win or lose:

“It’s one fight and let’s see what happens.”

Gabriel Checco has the chance to make a name for himself by taking out a UFC Hall of Famer in Evans.

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco predictions

The bookmakers’ predictions have Checco as the slight favorite with opening odds of -145.

According to Checco, his prediction is a “kill or be killed” fight.

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco picks

Get your Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco picks in.

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco betting odds

Gabriel Checco opened as a -145 betting favorite. Placing a bet on Checco means you would need to bet $145 in order to win $100.

Rashad Evans is a +135 underdog. If you bet $100 on Evans then you would win $135.

Where to bet on Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco

Rashad Evans vs Gabriel Checco tale of the tape

• Significant 7 year age difference: Checco is the younger fighter at 35 years old.
• Evans has a significant 4 inch reach advantage.
• Significant experience difference: Evans has 14 more professional MMA fights than Checco.

Rashad Evans	vs	Gabriel Checco
42	Age	35
31	Fights	17
19	Wins	12
8	Losses	5
7	KO’s	7
2	Subs	5
6′ 0	Height (in)	6′ 1
75	Reach (in)	71.5

Gabriel “Zangief” Checco fighter profile and recent form

Gabriel Checco is a 35 year old male fighter from Brazil with 12 pro wins and 5 losses. See Gabriel Checco’s full MMA record.

Gabriel Checco has a 100% finish rate, including 7 by knockout, 5 by submission.

Gabriel Checco is looking to put together a winning streak, having last beaten Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Pass Invitational.

Last 5 bouts

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Weight class	Org
Win	11-5-0	Simon Marini	KO/TKO R1 2:45	XMMA 3	2021-10-23	Light Heavyweight	XMMA
Loss	11-4-0	Jordan Wright	KO/TKO R2 0:48	LFA 80	2020-01-17	Middleweight	LFA
Win	10-4-0	Angel DeAnda	KO/TKO R1 3:08	Final Fight Championship 39	2019-07-11	Middleweight	FFC
Loss	10-3-0	Fernando Gonzalez	DEC R3 5:00	CXF 17	2019-03-09	Middleweight	CXF
Loss	10-2-0	Ian Heinisch	KO/TKO R1 3:44	LFA 39	2018-05-04	Middleweight	LFA

“Suga” Rashad Evans fighter profile and recent form

Rashad Evans is a 42 year old male fighter from United States with 19 pro wins and 8 losses. See Rashad Evans’s full MMA record.

Rashad Evans has a 32% finish rate, including 7 by knockout, 2 by submission, 13 by decision.

Rashad Evans is currently on a 5 fight losing skid.

Last 5 bouts

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Weight class	Org
Loss	19-7-1	Anthony Smith	KO/TKO R1 0:53	UFC 225	2018-06-09	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Loss	19-6-1	Sam Alvey	DEC R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night 114	2017-08-05	Middleweight	UFC
Loss	19-5-1	Daniel Kelly	DEC R3 5:00	UFC 209	2017-03-04	Middleweight	UFC
Loss	19-4-1	Glover Teixeira	KO/TKO R1 1:48	UFC on FOX 19	2016-04-16	Light Heavyweight	UFC
Loss	19-3-1	Ryan Bader	DEC R3 5:00	UFC 192	2015-10-03	Light Heavyweight	UFC