Mauricio Rua is considering his future in mixed martial arts.
Rua suffered his first defeat since July 2018 when he tapped to strikes against Paul Craig in their rematch at UFC 255 last night.
Despite a previous record of one defeat in his previous seven outings, “Shogun” had considerably slowed down and looked old in his recent fights and that was even more so evident against Craig.
UFC president Dana White called for him to retire shortly after the event and that appears to be something Rua is considering — even though he revealed he injured his elbow during the fight with Craig.
“Unfortunately things didn’t go out the way I would have liked last night, and this is a part of our sport. I suffered an injury to my elbow on the first time I was taken down, but this serves as no excuse, as it is part of fighting and it doesn’t take way any merits from my opponent. An athletes’ career is not only made of glory and thank God I was already blessed many times with the reward of victory, due to a lot of sacrifices and effort, that only those who live our everyday routine really knows what we go through.
“I want to thank all the amazing support from you guys, as always. I’m blessed for being able to do this for 18 years already, and here in 2020 you guys are the great motivation I carry with me, and that it makes me continue this far. Now I’m going to rest with my family, and think about my career. I know that my mission in this sport goes way beyond the octagon as well. Thanks a lot guys 
.”
The 38-year-old has been competing in mixed martial arts since 2002 in a career that saw him become the PRIDE and UFC light heavyweight champion.
If he does decide to call it a day, Rua will undoubtedly go down as one of the true legends of the sport with nothing further to prove.
Do you think Rua should hang up his gloves?