Fresh off his stunning first round knockout win over Lyoto Machida, the current UFC light-heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) say’s he’d be willing to face middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
In this months issue of Tatame magazine, Rua notes that he and Anderson “were never close” and “were never friends,” and if the UFC wanted to stick both men in the cage he’d be willing to take that fight.
“We’ve always had a good relationship, but we were never close. I’ve always admired Anderson on the gym, but we were never friends… If UFC wanted to, I’d confront Anderson”, said Maurício, who used to train with Anderson on Chute Boxe. “Anderson is a very good guy, had a good technique and conditioning, he’s one of the three best pound for pound, but I’m used to challenges. I’d be a tough fight, but I like tough challenges”, guarantees.
First, the champ will have to face Rashad Evans before he can think about facing Silva in the octagon. Evans won the right to fight for the light-heavyweight title last month by defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 114 in Las Vegas.
This would definitely be a fight fans would want to see, as well as one that UFC president Dana White could get behind and make happen. If Silva is successful in his next fight against Chael Sonnen in August, the UFC president may push for a Rua vs. Silva bout for next year as White has already expressed his desire to move the middleweight champ up a weight class.