Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua has never been able to replicate the same success in the Octagon that he had in the Pride ring, but he still plans to keep fighting on despite a 1-3 record in his past four fights.
As it turns out, he’s doing so against the wishes of two very important women in his life: his wife and his mother.
Appearing on Brazilian TV show Agora e Tarde last week (h/t Fighters Only), “Shogun” explained that he still has plenty of gas in the tank at 32 years old – even if some loved ones wish he would hang up the gloves for good: “My mother asks me, ‘You really have to fight?’ And I say, ‘That’s my job, Mom.’ … I’ve been doing this for thirteen years. Every month, my wife and my mother meet and try to make me stop [fighting], but I tell them that’s what I love to do.”
Rua, also a former Pride champion, was one of the most dominant titleholders the Japan-based promotion ever had, compiling an impressive 12-1 record between October 2003 and February 2007.
The 32-year-old Brazilian slugger has looked like a different competitor under the UFC banner, failing to put a win streak together since 2009 and posting just a 6-7 record overall since joining the promotion in September 2007.
In the midst of the worst stretch of his career, Rua most recently suffered a brutal come-from-behind knockout loss at the hands of Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 38 in March.
The bout was a rematch from UFC 139 in November 2011, a five-round classic that was almost instantly deemed Fight of the Year. Rua lost a razor-thin decision after 25 hard-fought minutes against the fellow ex-Pride champion.
He will get a chance to get back to winning ways when he faces Jimi Manuwa in front of his Brazilian home crowd at UFC Fight Night 56 in November.
Will Shogun prove he can still contend with the best 205-pounders in the world later this fall, or will Manuwa pull off a quick finish and have him seriously considering retirement?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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