Rashad Evans has known Joe Rogan for many years ... and the UFC legend tells TMZ Sports flat out, the JRE host is NOT racist.
"I know Joe and I know the kind of person Joe is," Evans told us ... "Joe never gave me any kind of feeling or any kind of indication that he's racist."
Of course, Rogan's in hot water as pressure mounts for him to be pulled off Spotify in the wake of an old video that resurfaced showing Joe repeatedly using the n-word.