UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) is healing better than expected and may make his return to the octagon “sooner than expected” according to the champ’s manager Eduardo Alonso.
Alonso spoke to Sherdog.com about “Shogun’s” knee surgery, which he had on June 10 in Los Angeles, and the fighter’s expected return.
“Off the top of my head, I think of the Superbowl card in February, but this is something that could change depending on his recovery schedule and the UFC’s business schedule,” said Alonso. “But the way things are going right now, I can tell you that he’ll be ready sooner than expected.”
“…We had options to do the surgery in many different places, but opted with the UFC’s advice to do it in Los Angeles with Dr. Kitvme,” said Alonso. “Honestly, I think it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.”
“…Whatever happens, Shogun will have to defend his belt when he’s back sooner or later and if it’s against an interim champion or just a contender, it doesn’t change much,” he said. “The way we see it, unless a champion retires, the interim champion is just another contender.”
Top contender Rashad Evans has already stated he isn’t interested in fighting for an interim title and will wait for Rua to make his return. (MMAfighting.com)
“I’m really not in a rush to fight right now – I’m ready, but I just want to fight the best fighters,” Evans said. “I know he fought Machida when he was hurt, so I can wait to fight the best Shogun. I’m not like, ‘Ahhh – I need to fight! I need to fight!’ There’s a lot of things I can do with my time when I’m not fighting.”