Tag: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

UFC Fight Night 106 Bonuses: Four Fighters Earn $50,000

The UFC’s latest foray to the homeland of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was an exciting one tonight (Saturday, March 11, 2017). UFC Fight Night 106 emanated from Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The main event between Vitor Belfort and Kelvin Gastelum ended as many predicted it would: with Gastelum standing over a prone Belfort.

The post UFC Fight Night 106 Bonuses: Four Fighters Earn $50,000 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The UFC’s latest foray to the homeland of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was an exciting one tonight (Saturday, March 11, 2017). UFC Fight Night 106 emanated from Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The main event between Vitor Belfort and Kelvin Gastelum ended as many predicted it would: with Gastelum standing over a prone Belfort.

“The Phenom” had his moments, but the younger, fresher Gastelum proved too much for the Old Lion. Gastelum ate Belfort’s fast hands and dropped him with a left hand. Belfort would survive on the ground and ultimately return to his feet, but from that point on, he was compromised. Gastelum put him down for good with another left hand moments later, and this time, referee Mario Yamasaki had no choice but to intervene on Belfort’s behalf. Gastelum would pocket an extra $50,000 for his impressive performance.

Elsewhere in main card action, Edson Barboza would bank his own $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his sensational, instantaneous, come-from-behind jump-knee knockout of Beneil Dariush. Dariush consistently beat the scintillating Barboza to the punch over the course of the bout’s first eight minutes. But one well-timed knee was all it took for Barboza to escape with the second-most impressive finish of his career, and an extra 50 G’s.

On the undercard, Michel “Trator” Prazeres blew the doors off wily veteran Joshua Burkman in less than a round. Burkman had only been finished one other time in his illustrious career, but Prazeres did the honors with shocking ease. A right hand wobbled Burkman and Prazeres poured on the punishment relentlessly. When Burkman survived the follow-up volley against the cage, Prazeres took him down, advanced to north-south position, and sunk in the fight-ending choke. He’ll go home an extra $50,000 richer for his dominant performance.

Lastly, the curtain-jerker offered extreme violence from the middleweight division. UFC newcomer Paulo Borrachinha plastered four-fight big-show veteran Garreth McLellan with powerful punches in the very first round. The notoriously tough McLellan could never find his footing, as he was put on the defensive from the word “go”. Borrachinha trapped his prey on the fence, bombed away with haymakers, and mopped him up on the mat when McLellan sought refuge there. The UFC debutante pocketed an extra $50,000 for his impressive striking display.

Keep it locked to LowKickMMA for all your UFC Fight Night 106 post-fight coverage.

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Twitter Reacts To Knockout-Filled UFC Fight Night 106

UFC Fight Night 106 went down tonight (Saturday, March 11, 2017) from the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The headliner saw hometown hero and MMA legend Vitor Belfort throw hands with new middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum. Unfortunately for the hometown crowd, it didn’t end well for “The Phenom”. Belfort was good for

The post Twitter Reacts To Knockout-Filled UFC Fight Night 106 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Fight Night 106 went down tonight (Saturday, March 11, 2017) from the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The headliner saw hometown hero and MMA legend Vitor Belfort throw hands with new middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum. Unfortunately for the hometown crowd, it didn’t end well for “The Phenom”.

Belfort was good for his early trademark blitz. He cracked Gastelum with hard left hands, but the former welterweight was undeterred. He dropped Belfort with a straight left and pounced for the finish, but the Brazilian would survive and regain his feet. Gastelum wrapped it up soon after, though. He punctuated a combination with another cross, and this time, Belfort would not recover. The win might be the most significant of the former TUF winner’s career.

The co-main event featured another Brazilian MMA icon, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, fighting for his third straight win against New York-based slugger Gian Villante. Rua would fare better than his Brazilian compatriot.

Shogun continually found a home for his overhand right, scoring throughout the abbreviated contest. But the bout was not without adversity. Villante stunned Rua on multiple occasions but failed to capitalize. Villante’s chin held up well under the constant barrage of right hands he absorbed, but a straight in round two snapped his head around and buckled his legs. Shogun followed up masterfully, polishing off his American foe with a head kick and a final volley of powerful hooks and uppercuts. With the win, Rua could find himself an unlikely member of the light heavyweight top five (he was #6 coming in).

See how MMA Twitter reacted to these electrifying bouts below:

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‘Shogun’ Rua: ‘The Subject of Retirement Bothers me a Little’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Mauricio Rua is a battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran. He has had 34 professional fights and amassed a record that currently stands at 24-10. “Shogun” won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title along the way.

Now at the age of 35, fans are wondering when Rua will decide to hang up his gloves. While “Shogun” has achieved great success in his career, he has also been finished seven times. He hasn’t looked stellar in his last two wins either.

MMAJunkie.com reached out to Rua recently. The former champion said he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about retirement:

“The subject bothers me a little. Because I’m experienced – I’ve been fighting for many years – but I’m also a young guy. I’m 35. People stop at 40, 38, 39. Depends. I think every athlete has the liberty to stop whenever they want.”

While there are many long-term health implications that come with fighting, Rua has compared it to any other occupation. He said a few bad outings doesn’t mean he should stop doing what he loves.

“People speculate that a lot about me because I’ve had a few losses, but everyone has losses. So if a doctor doesn’t perform a perfect surgery, they need to retire? If a dentist doesn’t perfectly extract a tooth, they need to retire? A businesswoman goes into a meeting and it’s not successful, she needs to retire? If I’m happy to be fighting, and the UFC is happy to have me fighting for them, I don’t know why people are so bothered by it.”

Rua will meet Gian Villante inside the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The event will take place on March 11. The event’s headliner will be a middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 17 middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Mauricio Rua is a battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran. He has had 34 professional fights and amassed a record that currently stands at 24-10. “Shogun” won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title along the way.

Now at the age of 35, fans are wondering when Rua will decide to hang up his gloves. While “Shogun” has achieved great success in his career, he has also been finished seven times. He hasn’t looked stellar in his last two wins either.

MMAJunkie.com reached out to Rua recently. The former champion said he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about retirement:

“The subject bothers me a little. Because I’m experienced – I’ve been fighting for many years – but I’m also a young guy. I’m 35. People stop at 40, 38, 39. Depends. I think every athlete has the liberty to stop whenever they want.”

While there are many long-term health implications that come with fighting, Rua has compared it to any other occupation. He said a few bad outings doesn’t mean he should stop doing what he loves.

“People speculate that a lot about me because I’ve had a few losses, but everyone has losses. So if a doctor doesn’t perform a perfect surgery, they need to retire? If a dentist doesn’t perfectly extract a tooth, they need to retire? A businesswoman goes into a meeting and it’s not successful, she needs to retire? If I’m happy to be fighting, and the UFC is happy to have me fighting for them, I don’t know why people are so bothered by it.”

Rua will meet Gian Villante inside the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. The event will take place on March 11. The event’s headliner will be a middleweight bout between former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 17 middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.

With Tendinitis Behind Him, ‘Shogun’ Rua is ‘Prepared’ For Gian Villante

shogun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder Mauricio Rua’s career has been a roller coaster ride. “Shogun” was a world beater in Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC). The only blemish on his record with the promotion was due to a broken arm against Mark Coleman.

Years later, Rua avenged the loss to Coleman inside the Octagon. Before the fight, “Shogun” suffered an upset submission loss at the hands of eventual world champion Forest Griffin. A knockout win over Chuck Liddell punched Rua’s ticket to a UFC title bout with Lyoto Machida.

Rua lost the first fight in a controversial unanimous decision. He would knock out “The Dragon” in a rematch to capture the championship. Over 10 months later, Rua was decimated by Jon Jones and lost his title via TKO in the third round.

Since then, “Shogun” has gone 5-5 inside the Octagon. Of those five losses, he has been finished three times. His last fight was a split decision win over Corey Anderson. “Shogun” wanted to return sooner, but he wasn’t healthy enough to compete.

Speaking with MMAFighting.com, Rua said he is now in tip-top shape:

“The focus was to fight in Brasilia in September, but I had a little tendinitis that didn’t let me train harder. It was no big deal, but it was a bit painful. They asked me if I could fight in Sao Paulo (on Nov. 19), but I couldn’t either. I’m 100 percent now. I’m training well, and ready to go.”

Rua will go toe-to-toe with Gian Villante at a UFC Fight Night card in Fortaleza, Brazil on March 11. “Shogun” said he is confident that the bout will go his way.

“I know him a little. I’ll start studying him now, but I know he likes to strike and to go for takedowns. He’s well-rounded. He has good hands, good takedowns. I’ll train hard to be prepared in all areas and don’t get surprised, of course. I hope I can use my Muay Thai in this fight. I think he will strike to close the distance and take me down. For sure, he will try to take me down and stay on top, which is an advantage. I think he will fight strategically, but I will be prepared to win the fight.”

shogun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_K7RXZfPGs

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder Mauricio Rua’s career has been a roller coaster ride. “Shogun” was a world beater in Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC). The only blemish on his record with the promotion was due to a broken arm against Mark Coleman.

Years later, Rua avenged the loss to Coleman inside the Octagon. Before the fight, “Shogun” suffered an upset submission loss at the hands of eventual world champion Forest Griffin. A knockout win over Chuck Liddell punched Rua’s ticket to a UFC title bout with Lyoto Machida.

Rua lost the first fight in a controversial unanimous decision. He would knock out “The Dragon” in a rematch to capture the championship. Over 10 months later, Rua was decimated by Jon Jones and lost his title via TKO in the third round.

Since then, “Shogun” has gone 5-5 inside the Octagon. Of those five losses, he has been finished three times. His last fight was a split decision win over Corey Anderson. “Shogun” wanted to return sooner, but he wasn’t healthy enough to compete.

Speaking with MMAFighting.com, Rua said he is now in tip-top shape:

“The focus was to fight in Brasilia in September, but I had a little tendinitis that didn’t let me train harder. It was no big deal, but it was a bit painful. They asked me if I could fight in Sao Paulo (on Nov. 19), but I couldn’t either. I’m 100 percent now. I’m training well, and ready to go.”

Rua will go toe-to-toe with Gian Villante at a UFC Fight Night card in Fortaleza, Brazil on March 11. “Shogun” said he is confident that the bout will go his way.

“I know him a little. I’ll start studying him now, but I know he likes to strike and to go for takedowns. He’s well-rounded. He has good hands, good takedowns. I’ll train hard to be prepared in all areas and don’t get surprised, of course. I hope I can use my Muay Thai in this fight. I think he will strike to close the distance and take me down. For sure, he will try to take me down and stay on top, which is an advantage. I think he will fight strategically, but I will be prepared to win the fight.”

The 8 Worst Downfalls In UFC History

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a very unforgiving game. Very few make it to the pinnacle, and even the brightest of stars don’t typically shine for too long. Time and time again in this crazy sport, we’ve seen the cream of the crop, and even legends, suddenly fall from grace, essentially being smacked in the

The post The 8 Worst Downfalls In UFC History appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a very unforgiving game. Very few make it to the pinnacle, and even the brightest of stars don’t typically shine for too long.

Time and time again in this crazy sport, we’ve seen the cream of the crop, and even legends, suddenly fall from grace, essentially being smacked in the face by the harsh realities embodied by the fight game.

This isn’t to say that we haven’t seen excellent fighters reign supreme for years and end up on top or on a high note, because we most certainly have. But we have also unfortunately seen our fair share of fighters who weren’t lucky enough to experience a storybook ending. Fortunately for some, however, their careers aren’t over, and some have even bounced back already.

Let’s take a look at eight of the steepest downfalls in UFC history.

The post The 8 Worst Downfalls In UFC History appeared first on LowKick MMA.

10 Times Dan Henderson Rocked The MMA World

It goes without saying that Dan Henderson has had one of the most storied careers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. He added yet another chapter to his astonishing track record with a stunning knockout of Hector Lombard 10 days ago (June 4, 2016) at UFC 199. In his post-fight interview, “Hendo” mentioned that he may

The post 10 Times Dan Henderson Rocked The MMA World appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It goes without saying that Dan Henderson has had one of the most storied careers in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.

He added yet another chapter to his astonishing track record with a stunning knockout of Hector Lombard 10 days ago (June 4, 2016) at UFC 199. In his post-fight interview, “Hendo” mentioned that he may have just been in his last battle.

If we have indeed seen the last of Henderson, he will leave behind an unassailable legacy. Over the course of a career that began back in 1997, he fought probably the most difficult slate of opponents in the history of the sport. Across three weight classes, from middleweight to heavyweight, Henderson consistently fought the best of the best. He squared off with the likes of both Nogueiras, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko, Daniel Cormier, Lyoto Machida, and Mauricio Rua.

This list will look back at the accomplishments of a true all-time great and consensus first ballot hall of famer.

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