Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy Fight Announced for UFC 205: Details, Reaction

Rashad Evans will make his return to the Octagon in November as a middleweight and challenge Tim Kennedy at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden in New York. 

Evans made the announcement during an interview with CBS Sports' Nick Kostos.

The fight has been discussed for a few weeks. Evans told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting about it during an August edition of The MMA Hour podcast when he originally announced his intention to move down in weight:

"

I can tell you I'm working towards that in making my cut down to middleweight. As far as the opponent, nothing has been set in stone. There has been talks about a fight with (Kennedy), but other fights too as well, but nothing has been signed yet. I had Ali [Evans' manager] with Joe Silva trying to set something up but nothing has been finalized yet.

"

Evans is at an interesting point in his career. He lost four of his last six fights at light heavyweight, including suffering a first-round knockout against Glover Teixeira in April, and has been overmatched against the top contenders in the division. 

Making a move down in weight could help Evans prolong his career, but he's already 36 years old with 25 career matches under his belt and has never fought professionally at 185 pounds. 

Kennedy isn't a young man at 37, but he's been fighting at middleweight for most of his career. He hasn't fought since losing to Yoel Romero at UFC 178 in September 2014. 

UFC 205 is going to be built around the spectacle of hosting a major mixed martial arts event in New York. Evans isn't the star he was during his prime in 2008 and 2009, but he's still a big name and is from the state.

Getting Evans on the card in a matchup with another fighter who is often exciting to watch is a nice reward for him for helping grow the company into what it is today.