Fresh off his drubbing of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is looking to take out another former champion in “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz.
Eduardo Alonso, Rua’s manager, recently spoke with Tatame about the possibility of the Brazilian competing on the December 31 card, which could take place in Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve been hearing some rumors, but until now, there’s nothing concrete about UFC. If it depends only on my plannings, he’d fight on December 31, it’d be great,” Alonso said. “I’d really like him to fight Tito Ortiz since he’s been an icon of the sport and will soon retire.”
Most fans are probably scratching their heads at the mere idea of this bout.
While Rua is a top-three light heavyweight in motion to earn another UFC title shot, Ortiz is coming off a one-sided TKO loss to Rashad Evans.
Despite an inspiring submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz is 1-5-1 in his last seven bouts.
“[Shogun] didn’t have the chance to fight (Randy) Couture, something Lyoto had the luck and credits to do, but I’d like to see this fight,” Alonso said.
“It came from Tito himself, who challenged him, but we’re realistic. I know it’s not much likely, so it’s only left for us to wait. Everybody knows Shogun doesn’t pick his opponents, so we’re open to discussion. To me, the date (December 31) is more important than the opponent.”
Years ago, Ortiz versus Rua was pitted as an MMA dream match, and stylistically, the bout still carries a certain level of intrigue.
According to UFC President Dana White, Rua is now one fight away from another shot at the UFC title, but would a win over a declining Ortiz be enough to grant him that shot?
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