Shogun Rua revealed his targeted date to retire from a decorated career in MMA.
The former UFC champion recently saw a win streak disappear when he lost a brutal stoppage to surging contender Anthony Smith at UFC Hamburg.
While Rua may have missed out on a title shot due to the loss, he isn’t making excuses. Rua told MMA Fighting he had a great camp for the fight but simply got caught:
“Everything went right up until the end of the fight. I had a good camp, I had no injuries, I was 100 percent, and unfortunately he landed a straight punch and I got dizzy and he followed up with a flurry of punches and the referee stopped the fight. I think that my mistake was being a little exposed, and that’s when he landed.
“It’s not an excuse. But I was a little bit out of rhythm, with no distance, and that hurt me a little bit. But Anthony had all the merits.”
Rua then went on to describe his feelings at the loss. He’s not buying the talk he should retire, but instead wants to fight again. Overall he plans on fighting out the final three fights on his contract.
The legend claimed he would re-evaluate and would probably call it a career when the contract was done:
“I want to end this contract and then I think I’ll probably stop,” Rua said. “I don’t know. I’ll analyze it with my family and my team, everybody.”
Rua said his family often asked him to retire, but they also knew his passion for the fight game and why he fought on:
“Yes. All the time. They ask for that, but they understand me. Fighting is my work, my career and my passion, so there’s a lot involved. I will stop when I see it really is the right time to stop.”
While his time as a true light heavyweight contender may be closing, Rua insists that won’t deter him. He placed his focus on his next fight camp, whenever and against whom that may be:
“I’ll do everything it takes to get to my best,” Rua said. “I’m the one who wants to win more than anyone. I haven’t thought about it yet, but I’ll evaluate everything with a cool head and think about the next camp.”
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