Tag: Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans Wants to Fight the Best Shogun Rua When He’s Ready

Filed under: UFC, NewsHAMMOND, IND. – Sitting on a well-worn weight bench in his friend Miguel Torres’ sweltering gym on Friday, Rashad Evans said there’s no reason for him to be in a hurry.

Evans, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, beat Quin…

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HAMMOND, IND. – Sitting on a well-worn weight bench in his friend Miguel Torres’ sweltering gym on Friday, Rashad Evans said there’s no reason for him to be in a hurry.

Evans, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in May to become the top contender for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua‘s belt. But Rua, who won the title from Lyoto Machida in May with an injured knee, will be on the shelf until at least March recovering from surgery. And that means Evans is on the shelf, as well – by choice.

“I’m really not in a rush to fight right now – I’m ready, but I just want to fight the best fighters,” Evans said. “I know he fought Machida when he was hurt, so I can wait to fight the best Shogun. I’m not like, ‘Ahhh – I need to fight! I need to fight!’ There’s a lot of things I can do with my time when I’m not fighting.”

Shogun Eyeing January Return to Action; Says Talk of Interim Title is Premature

(Now we get why Shogun keeps going under the knife)
According to UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, he could be back competing in the Octagon sooner than the March projection made by UFC president Dana White during last wee…


(Now we get why Shogun keeps going under the knife)

According to UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, he could be back competing in the Octagon sooner than the March projection made by UFC president Dana White during last weekend’s UFC 116 post-fight press conference.

Having undergone successful knee surgery last month for an injury he sustained during his trouncing of Lyoto Machida at UFC 113, Rua is rehabbing the knee every day with a physiotherapist and says that he doesn’t expect a long layoff.

"It’s everything fine now," Rua told TATAME’s Guillherme Cruz. "I had the surgery a month ago, and I’m cool. I can walk already. I’m doing a fitness work and physiotherapy and next month I’ll be back to my training and I’ll strengthen my leg so I can come back next year — probably in January —  if everything works out fine."

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Another UFC Interim Title? Thanks, But No Thanks

Filed under: UFCWell, that didn’t take long. With the recent news that UFC light heavyweight champ “Shogun” Rua will likely be out until March of 2011, already the calls are coming for the UFC to create another interim title belt for the healthy 205-po…

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Well, that didn’t take long. With the recent news that UFC light heavyweight champ “Shogun” Rua will likely be out until March of 2011, already the calls are coming for the UFC to create another interim title belt for the healthy 205-pounders to fight over in the meantime.

As if fans haven’t had enough of “fake” titles lately. As if any fight becomes instantly more important as soon as there’s some chunk of hardware at stake.

The latest MMA figure to ask for an interim title fight is manager Ed Soares, who suggested this week that while Rua heals up from knee surgery, Lyoto Machida should fight Rashad Evans for the interim belt, with the winner to take on Rua once he’s ready to return to action.

Machida’s Camp Wants an Interim Title Bout Against the Last Guy Lyoto REALLY Beat

(Whatever happened to working your way back up the ladder after a loss?)
Apparently Lyoto Machida is trying to jump to the front of the line of fighters in the queue to face Mauricio Rua when the UFC light heavyweight champ returns from rehabbing from …


(Whatever happened to working your way back up the ladder after a loss?)

Apparently Lyoto Machida is trying to jump to the front of the line of fighters in the queue to face Mauricio Rua when the UFC light heavyweight champ returns from rehabbing from knee surgery he underwent a few weeks ago.

According to an interview he did with MMAJunkie, Machida’s manager Ed Soares says that his charge’s first choice of fights would be a rubbermatch with Rua, but since according to UFC president Dana White, Shogun will likely be sidelined until March, they would instead like to battle for an interim belt with the man who is said to be next in line for a shot at the real belt.

"Honestly, we’d like to fight ‘Shogun,’" Machida’s manager, Ed Soares, today told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "Now it’s 1-1. It’s even. Let’s do this rubber match. Let’s figure this out. Granted, he won by decision and Lyoto won decisively, but anyone can get caught in this sport. He went in for the kill, and unfortunately, he got caught." 

"Since ‘Shogun’ is out – they’re saying until March – personally, when there’s an injured champion, I would love to see maybe a Rashad-Lyoto match for the interim title. I think that would be something that would be cool, and the winner of that would get to fight ‘Shogun’ when he’s all healed up in the spring of next year."

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Shogun Rua Out Until March, Leaving 205-Pound Division in Holding Pattern

Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS — Rashad Evans won a light-heavyweight championship title opportunity when he beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in May, but he’s going to have to wait a while to cash in his golden ticket.

UFC President Dana White confirm…

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Shogun RuaLAS VEGAS — Rashad Evans won a light-heavyweight championship title opportunity when he beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in May, but he’s going to have to wait a while to cash in his golden ticket.

UFC President Dana White confirmed Thursday that current champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua won’t be back in the octagon for another eight months, likely returning in March 2011.

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Emperor’s Reign Ends

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Rankings, OverallFedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not …

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Fedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not at the top anymore, after Fabricio Werdum submitted him in just 69 seconds on Saturday night.

But is Fedor still in the Top 10? Not on my list.

Some people would say Fedor’s body of work merits inclusion in the Top 10, but this isn’t a list of the greatest fighters of all time, it’s a list of the greatest fighters right now. And the soon-to-be 34-year-old Emelianenko, even though he is the greatest fighter of all time, isn’t one of the 10 best right now. My list, the first one I’ve ever put together without Fedor on it, is below.