Rashad Evans on injury layoff: It's hard to sit and watch UFC pass me by

But don't count him out just yet, as "Suga" still plans to return to the Octagon this September.

It's been 16 long months since Rashad Evans stepped foot inside the Octagon, and the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion is growing more and more restless by the day.

After tearing his ACL back in 2013, "Suga" has been forced to sit on the sidelines and recover while the mixed martial arts (MMA) game passes him by.

It's an uncontrollable and unbearable feeling for the former champion, who tells MMA Junkie that being in the gym helping out his Blackzilian teammates is the closest thing he can do to make himself feel close to the action.

His words:

"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. 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."

With no opponent in mind, "Suga" eyes a return to action in September, but only if he feels 100-percent.

And though he isn't thinking about retirement at the moment, Rashad is thinking about life after fighting, as his recent layoff has shown him fighting for a living can come to a screeching halt at any given moment.

"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. 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."

The good thing for Rashad is, he's proven time and again that he has the chops to be in front of the camera as a analyst for FOX Sports. So there's that.

For now, Evans will keep fighting the rehab fight in hopes of a fall return. Anyone think he can return back to old form?

This guy did.