Earlier this month, the long-rumored issues within Boca Raton’s Blackzilian squad finally entered the public eye when founding member Rashad Evans and striking coach Henri Hooft indicated they had split from the team. In an interview on The MMA Hour, Evans revealed that he — along with Anthony Johnson, Kamaru Usman, and several other key Blackzilian members — had moved into a new Florida gym, Combat Club, to continue training under the tutelage of Hooft and Greg Jones. Hooft posted a statement on Instagram that same day confirming Evans’ remarks.
Less than a week later, the UFC announced that Johnson’s title rematch against UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was finally official for April 8 at UFC 210.