Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
Former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua could be very close to calling it a career.
Former UFC light heavyweight Mauricio Rua’s career might be coming to an end sooner than expected. After 17 years and 37 professional fights, ‘Shogun’ is now expected to take on Paul Craig at UFC Sao Paulo, but it might be one of his last appearances as a professional MMA fighter.
In an interview with Combate, the soon to be 38-year-old revelaed a promise he made to his wife to have only two more fights and then call it a career. If Rua will keep his word, however, was unclear.
“My wife used to think the sport was very violent, much more than it is. Since she doesn’t know much, she thinks I’m going to the gallows everytime I fight. When I got married, I promised her I would only fight twice more and then retire. Last month was our 12-year anniversary. Today, 12 years later, I promised only two more fights and that’s it. She has been pressing me and is kind of demanding it now. We’ll see how it goes.”
Although his wife and other MMA pundits believe it might be time for Shogun to hang up the gloves for good, the Brazilian does not feel like it really is his time just yet. Mauricio explains he still feels happy to perform in the Octagon and has been scoring good results lately, so he sees no solid reason to retire just now.
“It’s funny, sometimes I’ll win a fight and there’ll be people telling me to quit. If I fought, won and should retire, the guy I beat should have to kill himself. I think people are unfair sometimes. I think it’s a very personal thing, to know when to stop. If I’m happy to fight in the UFC and the UFC is happy to have me, why should I stop because half a dozen fans want me to quit for no reason whatsoever? I tell my mananger, I’ll stop when I don’t have my reflexes anymore, my vigor. Then I’ll stop. As long as I’m training well, sparring well, I’ll go on.”
With just one loss in his past five fights, Mauricio Rua (26-11) scored wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson, Gian Villante and most recently, in December 2018, Tyson Pedro. His sole loss during this time was a July 2018 KO defeat to former title challenger Anthony Smith.
Now, Shogun is expected to meet Craig at UFC Fight Night 164, on November 16, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former middleweight Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and contender Jan Blachowicz.