Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has quickly re-emerged as a contender in the always competitive 205-pound division. The Brazilian dynamo is coming off of a huge first-round knockout victory over another former world cha…
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has quickly re-emerged as a contender in the always competitive 205-pound division.
The Brazilian dynamo is coming off of a huge first-round knockout victory over another former world champion in Forrest Griffin just a couple of weeks ago. The win allowed “Shogun” to exact revenge from their initial encounter in 2007, where The Ultimate Fighter season one winner was able to submit the PRIDE superstar with a last-minute rear-naked choke.
Rua is riding on a wave of confidence and now that he has synced back up with his self professed Master in Rafael Cordeiro, he will be looking to climb the ladder once again in order to claim back what was once his not too long ago, his status as the best fighter in his weight class.
“Shogun’s” manager in Eduardo Alonso, who spoke with TATAME.com, has expressed interest in his fighter returning to the big stage this December for the organization’s year-end banger, possibly against former champion Tito Ortiz, though the potential for Rua’s next bout is virtually limitless.
Fresh off his drubbing of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is looking to take out another former champion in “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz. Eduardo Alonso, Rua’s manager, recently spoke with Tatame about the possibility of…
Fresh off his drubbing of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is looking to take out another former champion in “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz.
Eduardo Alonso, Rua’s manager, recently spoke with Tatame about the possibility of the Brazilian competing on the December 31 card, which could take place in Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve been hearing some rumors, but until now, there’s nothing concrete about UFC. If it depends only on my plannings, he’d fight on December 31, it’d be great,” Alonso said. “I’d really like him to fight Tito Ortiz since he’s been an icon of the sport and will soon retire.”
Most fans are probably scratching their heads at the mere idea of this bout.
While Rua is a top-three light heavyweight in motion to earn another UFC title shot, Ortiz is coming off a one-sided TKO loss to Rashad Evans.
Despite an inspiring submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz is 1-5-1 in his last seven bouts.
“[Shogun] didn’t have the chance to fight (Randy) Couture, something Lyoto had the luck and credits to do, but I’d like to see this fight,” Alonso said.
“It came from Tito himself, who challenged him, but we’re realistic. I know it’s not much likely, so it’s only left for us to wait. Everybody knows Shogun doesn’t pick his opponents, so we’re open to discussion. To me, the date (December 31) is more important than the opponent.”
Years ago, Ortiz versus Rua was pitted as an MMA dream match, and stylistically, the bout still carries a certain level of intrigue.
According to UFC President Dana White, Rua is now one fight away from another shot at the UFC title, but would a win over a declining Ortiz be enough to grant him that shot?
After being dispatched by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134, Forrest Griffin looked like a broken man.There was a lot going through the mind of Griffin weeks prior to his bout, including his desire to remain fighting in the UFC. But just momen…
After being dispatched by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134, Forrest Griffin looked like a broken man.
There was a lot going through the mind of Griffin weeks prior to his bout, including his desire to remain fighting in the UFC. But just moments before the post-fight press conference, it was learned that Griffn’s wife was about to give birth to their baby daughter.
UFC President Dana White sympathised with Griffin and understood the situation he was in, and despite the loss, White praised Griffin for his courage to fight.
“Forrest is a warrior. He wears his heart on his sleeve. I have so much respect for him for coming and taking this fight in this situation,” White told MMAJunkie.com.
Griffin stepped in to face Rua in a rematch from UFC 76, where Griffin had submitted the Brazilian in the third round. However, the rematch didn’t go his way, and Griffin was laid out in two minutes by the former Pride FC star. He didn’t look like the same fighter.
“I had a lot of opportunities to go, and I didn’t go. The gameplan was to get off after he missed. He missed a couple of times big, and I just stood there and let him off the hook,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s record falls to 2-3 in his last five bouts, but White stands behind him with full support. He said Griffin still remains relevant in the light heavyweight division, even though he’s had a poor showing as of late.
“There’s no doubt Forrest is top-10,” White said.
“He can go out and beat anybody on any given night. you never know with him. He’s tough.”
With UFC 134 in the books, all eyes are pointed toward Jon Jones’ first title defense at UFC 135.He was originally slated to face Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but that fight was scrapped when Jones thought he had to have surgery on his hand. Evans en…
With UFC 134 in the books, all eyes are pointed toward Jon Jones’ first title defense at UFC 135.
He was originally slated to face Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but that fight was scrapped when Jones thought he had to have surgery on his hand. Evans ended up signing up to fight Phil Davis instead, and Jones signed up to fight Rampage just two events later.
Will Jones handle Rampage the same way he handled Rua and Bader before him, or will Rampage put an abrupt end to the Jon Jones hype train with his first knockout in years?
With UFC 134 in the books, we can add another win to the record of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.Not only did he avenge another loss to one of only five people to defeat him (something he’s done two other times), but he showed that he is still able to knockout…
With UFC 134 in the books, we can add another win to the record of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Not only did he avenge another loss to one of only five people to defeat him (something he’s done two other times), but he showed that he is still able to knockout anyone, anytime, anywhere.
So let’s take a look at the five fighters who should be next on Shogun’s list of victims.
Last Saturday at UFC 134 in Brazil, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was able to do what many expected he would do and defeated Forrest Griffin in devastating Shogun-fashion—via first round knockout—thus redeeming his upset loss to Griffin back in 200…
Last Saturday at UFC 134 in Brazil, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was able to do what many expected he would do and defeated Forrest Griffin in devastating Shogun-fashion—via first round knockout—thus redeeming his upset loss to Griffin back in 2007 at UFC 76.
This marks the third time Shogun has been able to avenge a loss and do so by KO. With only five losses on his record, three of which while in the UFC, this former UFC light-heavyweight champion is that much more impressive and dangerous.
His first rematch came against Mark Coleman in 2009 at UFC 93. Coleman had handed Shogun his second career loss back in 2006 at Pride 31 by breaking his arm during a takedown. As astonishing as the arm break was, the post-fight brawl was the most surprising part of the night involving not only Coleman, but Wanderlei Silva, Shogun’s brother Murilo and Coleman cornerman Phil Baroni.
Next up was Lyoto Machida last year at UFC 113. This was one of the most anticipated rematches in MMA history, as Shogun lost a very close and controversial decision to Machida in each fighter’s previous outing at UFC 104. Shogun delivered on his promise and ended the fight by KO in the first round, thus dethroning The Dragon.
After he captured the title, Shogun was on the sidelines for a year. Upon his return, he met the young star that is Jon “Bones Jones.” While some believed Jones was not yet ready to fight for the title, he proved the critics wrong and gave Shogun his fifth career loss.
No one was calling for an immediate rematch this time around, but that should not be reason enough for their not to be one in the future. As Shogun has demonstrated on numerous occasions, he not only has what it takes to come back and get revenge, but he does so in knockout fashion.
The truest mark of any champion isn’t the ability to become an unstoppable force, but the ability to pick yourself up when you’re knocked down and recover to achieve victory. It is clear which kind of fighter Shogun is, and for that reason alone he will one day defeat Jon Jones and win UFC gold again.
Fresh off his drubbing of 
After being dispatched by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at