Apparently, Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua’s first-round drubbing of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 was met with screams. But the cries in question weren’t coming from the sold-out crowd in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“When [Griffin] was laid out on his back, I heard him scream ‘stop! stop!,’ but I couldn’t stop hitting him,” Rua told RedeTV Esporte on Wednesday.
The win over Griffin helped Rua avenge a September 2007 loss and rebound from a recent TKO loss to current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Rua admits he didn’t want to take any chances with Griffin, who is known for his late-fight heroics. When he saw the opportunity to pounce, the Brazilian wasted no time putting an end to Griffin’s night.
“I managed to impose my strategy and my pace. Griffin is a top guy, always comes well-prepared to the fight with good conditioning,” said Rua. “I wanted to win badly. I trained so much and promised to myself that I would never come to perform in a fight 90 percent or 80 percent like previously. This is my focus today.”
A healthy and focused Rua is without a doubt one of the scariest 205-pound fighters on the planet.
Fans could see him back in action as early as December. There was interest from Rua’s camp in a potential bout against MMA legend Tito Ortiz, but it looks like “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will instead face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140.
A rubber match with Lyoto Machida at UFC 141 seems like the most likely scenario.
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