BOCA RATON, Fla. – It’s been more than 500 days since UFC fans have had an opportunity to watch former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans ply his trade in the octagon. Evans gave one of his best career performances on that November 2013 night, completely overwhelming Chael Sonnen for a first round TKO win.

Since that bout, Evans (19-3-1 MMA, 14-3-1 UFC) a series of knee injuries, including multiple surgeries, have kept him on the sidelines.

The time off has been tough on “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner.

“This has probably been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire career – just to sit out, not being able to do too much, not to do what I love to do when I’m in the gym all the time,” Evans told MMAjunkie. “I’m watching my teammates go, and they’re fighting. Naturally, you feel – once you’ve been doing the sport this long – that eventually it’s going to be my turn. And it’s not my turn yet. It’s just hard to sit back and watch the whole MMA game pass you by.”

It was sparring day at the Blackzilians gym in Boca Raton, Fla., when MMAjunkie visited Evans. He couldn’t participate but was active in helping coach his teammates during their sessions.

“I do like to be here even though I can’t spar; I like to be here with the team,” Evans said. “I like to give the guys some pointers when I see it. I love to coach. If I can’t fight, then I’ll coach. Being in here with the guys is as close as I can get to it now.”

Evans is 35. He’s not walking off into the sunset just yet. But the injury and layoff have given him reason to think about the future. It’s a new experience for Evans. For many fighters, it’s hard to look beyond your next fight.

Options abound for Evans. He could coach in the future or he could continue to expand on his current role as a UFC analyst on Fox Sports broadcasts.

“This whole experience has definitely had me thinking about what it’s going to be like when it’s over or what’s next in my life,” Evans said. “You can’t fight forever. And, when you’re young – 10 years ago, I never foreseen this coming. I knew it was going to end. I knew it was going to be over. I just didn’t know what the end would be and what it would entail. I’m far from over right now, but this is just a glimpse into my future. When I can’t fight, what’s next for me? Do I just go and have a normal life? Do I coach some guys? What do I do? It’s definitely raised some interesting questions and opened my mind to a lot of different thoughts I didn’t have before.”

Thoughts of the future haven’t distracted Evans from his ultimate goal of getting back in the octagon as soon as possible.

Recovery from ACL surgery can be tricky, and the entire recovery process can be ruined if an athlete decides to push himself too hard, too soon. Knowing that, Evans still has an ambitious date in mind for his next fight.

“I want to fight in September,” Evans said. “I want to fight around my birthday, Sept. 25. I think that I should be ready by then. I’m three months into my recovery right now, and it feels pretty good.

“I don’t want to rush anything because I don’t want to take a chance and hurt myself again. But, at the same time, I am looking forward to going back out there and competing by September.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.