Mixed martial arts career

Evans became a 7-time Alaska State Freestyle and Greco-Roman champion in amateur wrestling competition.^[2]

Evans wrestled in high school for Bartlett High School in Anchorage. As a freshman he won a region championship and placed 4th at the 4A State Championships. As a junior he was a region runner-up and again placed 4th at the state meet. Evans wrestled future Bellator contender Jesse Brock in high school.

Evans made his professional MMA debut in February 1999. He quickly established an impressive 6-1 record while fighting in his native Alaska and one fight in California. This drew the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and he was signed with the company in 2007.

Lethwei

In June 2001, twelve years after Burma changed its name to Myanmar, the first international event took place in Yangon with professional fighters from the United States facing Burmese fighters under full traditional Lethwei rules. The delegation of three American fighters brought by the IKF were Evans, Shannon Ritch, and Albert Ramirez. Evans was matched against Lethwei World Champion Wan Chai at theInternational Myanmar traditional boxing challenge & Myanmar-Australia talent testing boxing competition in Yangon, Myanmar. In the first round, Evans was dropped to the floor with a knee strike to the lower abdomen while clinching^[5] and lost by referee stoppage (TKO).^[1][6] Evans later claimed he was kneed in the groin by Wan Chai, however the official did not see the strike and result remained. All three Americans lost to the Burmese.^[7]