Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White responded to a fan on Twitter (@danawhite) about who former light heavyweight champ Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (20-6) would fight next.
White responded with one name, Thiago Silva (14-3, 1NC).
Rua is coming off the 2011 “Fight of the Year” bout with current No. 1 contender Dan Henderson last November at UFC 139. ‘Shogun’ would get plastered in the first two rounds by ‘Hendo’ and eventually take over the fight in the fourth and fifth rounds. In the end, the judges would score it as a unanimous decision for Henderson.
‘Shogun’ is 1-1 since losing the title to Jon Jones just over a year ago at UFC 128 and is 2-3 in his last five bouts. Two of those matches were back-to-back title fights with Lyoto Machida with each Brazilian earning a win over their fellow countryman.
Silva returned from a year suspension for falsifying his urine during a post-fight drug test, losing to Alexander Gustafsson by decision earlier this month at UFC on FUEL TV 2 in Sweden. The defeat puts Silva’s record at 0-2 (1NC) in his last three Octagon appearances.
Silva had his last win back in August 2009, a first round knockout finish of Keith Jardine at UFC 102. That win allowed Silva to bounce back from his first pro-loss, a KO defeat to Lyoto Machida at UFC 94.
Updated: MMAjunkie.com says it has confirmed that the two Brazilians will in fact meet in Canada at the upcoming UFC 149 pay-per-view event set for July 21, 2012 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.