Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may no longer be considered the top 205-pound fighter in the world, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up the dream of getting back there. However, after upsetti…
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may no longer be considered the top 205-pound fighter in the world, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to give up the dream of getting back there.
However, after upsetting UFC President Dana White by turning down a fight with UFC newcomer Glover Teixeira, Shogun might be looking at a longer climb up the ladder.
According to White, the former champion told him that he would prefer to be cut rather than fight Teixeira. Shogun had a different recollection of the conversation.
“They asked me to fight Glover, my manager told me and then I talked to my team and we decided not to fight Glover because he’s a top guy but, but he’s building a career in the UFC,” Teixeira told TATAME.com. “He fought once and it was on an undercard, so it’s not fair. I made it clear that it wasn’t interesting for us now.”
Though Rua admits that he did not want the bout with Teixeira, he also denied White’s claim that he told the UFC that he would rather be cut from the company than take the fight.
“Dana White commented I rather leave UFC than fighting him but it was not true. UFC never thought about it neither did I,” he said. “[The conversation about preferring to be cut] never happened.”
Rua will instead fight Brandon Vera in the main event of the next UFC on FOX fight card from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on August 4, 2012.
Most MMA fans and pundits were surprised when the UFC announced Brandon Vera as the replacement for Brian Stann, who was supposed to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on Fox 4 in August. Although a great majority of people in the MMA co…
Most MMA fans and pundits were surprised when the UFC announced Brandon Vera as the replacement for Brian Stann, who was supposed to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on Fox 4 in August.
Although a great majority of people in the MMA community think that Vera is a bad choice, the possibility that the UFC is building up a future contender/superstar in “The Truth” is still very viable.
Making him fight Rua already is a great testament to this argument, for a win against the former light heavyweight champion will surely propel him up the rankings.
Vera’s record aside, here are three factors that the UFC might have seen in him to give him this golden opportunity.
Brandon Vera wasn’t exactly the opponent most fans were hoping for when he was paired up with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on FOX 4.The announcement came after Brian Stann suffered a shoulder injury, which forced him and his opponent Hector Lombard off…
Brandon Vera wasn’t exactly the opponent most fans were hoping for when he was paired up with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on FOX 4.
The announcement came after Brian Stann suffered a shoulder injury, which forced him and his opponent Hector Lombard off of the card and prompted the UFC to find a new main event.
The new pairing of Vera and Rua has left fans unsatisfied, and a lot of them feel Vera is a mismatch for the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
But that only lights a fire under Vera, and he told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (h/t Dave Doyle of MMAfighting.com) that he is ready to prove his detractors wrong.
“I need this, this could almost become the defining moment of my career, through all the good, the bad and the ugly. If I do this the way I’m supposed to, the way I can, the world will start following,” Vera said. “I’m not ready to let my story come to an end. I’m not ready to retire, I’m not ready to hang up the gloves.”
That is different tune coming from the 34-year-old, who at one point was hailed as the future of the heavyweight division after beginning his UFC tenure at 4-0. But recently “The Truth” has declined, compiling a record of 1-2-1.
But he believes he has rediscovered the passion inside of him, something that was rarely seen since his early days in the company.
He is ready to prove himself against the former Pride FC standout and shut the critics up, too.
“After my performance against Eliot Marshall they’re supposed to be counting me out. I’m supposed to show up and get my ass whupped. That’s what’s supposed to happen. But it’s not going down like that on August 4. Everyone is expecting me not to beat him. I don’t mind being the underdog, that’s when I’m at my best,” he said.
Everyone likes an underdog story, however Vera might be biting off more than he can chew against the Brazilian. The truth is that Vera has not looked remotely capable of competing against some of the 205-pound-division’s elite fighters, let alone defeat them.
Vera is reaching his mid-30s and is no longer the same fighter he once was. Rua is no spring chicken either, as he has looked rather vulnerable in some of his past fights, too, but one would expect “Shogun” to pull off the victory with ease.
If Vera does walk away with the win, it doesn’t put him anywhere near the top of the division, but it will have fans believing in the hype and finally take him seriously.
(Shogun, seen here at his all-time favorite vacation getaway.)
Not many of us could make sense of how Mauricio Rua wound up paired against Brandon Vera for the main event of UFC on FOX 4, especially when considering that a fighter of equal to greater relevance in Glover Teixeira had been favored as a replacement against Rua in Thiago Silva’s absence. “The Truth” has not fought since eeking out a decision victory over the now retired Elliot Marshall in October of 2011, and hasn’t looked like his aggressive, take no prisoners self since UFC 65. Teixeira, on the other hand, is on a 16 fight win streak, and although he is of lesser name value, would surely make for a better fight against Rua in our opinion.
Dana White initially reported that when offered the fight, Shogun’s camp wanted “nothing to do with” Teixeira, a claim that was almost instantly rebuked by Shogun’s camp. Oddly enough, after his camp rebuked such a claim, they immediately accepted a match against Vera, leading one to believe that maybe DW wasn’t bullshitting us as he’s been accused of doing before.
Well during the UFC on FX 3 post fight press conference, White divulged into the “he said/she said” speculation a little further, stating that Shogun was so against fighting Teixeira that he was willing to be cut before taking a fight with him.
A full video of the interview and transcription await you after the jump.
(Shogun, seen here at his all-time favorite vacation getaway.)
Not many of us could make sense of how Mauricio Rua wound up paired against Brandon Vera for the main event of UFC on FOX 4, especially when considering that a fighter of equal to greater relevance in Glover Teixeira had been favored as a replacement against Rua in Thiago Silva’s absence. “The Truth” has not fought since eeking out a decision victory over the now retired Elliot Marshall in October of 2011, and hasn’t looked like his aggressive, take no prisoners self since UFC 65. Teixeira, on the other hand, is on a 16 fight win streak, and although he is of lesser name value, would surely make for a better fight against Rua in our opinion.
Dana White initially reported that when offered the fight, Shogun’s camp wanted “nothing to do with” Teixeira, a claim that was almost instantly rebuked by Shogun’s camp. Oddly enough, after his camp rebuked such a claim, they immediately accepted a match against Vera, leading one to believe that maybe DW wasn’t bullshitting us as he’s been accused of doing before.
Well during the UFC on FX 3 post fight press conference, White divulged into the “he said/she said” speculation a little further, stating that Shogun was so against fighting Teixeira that he was willing to be cut before taking a fight with him.
(The question comes around the 2:50 mark.)
Here’s what The UFC Prez had to say when questioned on the issue:
Because he absolutely refused to fight him. He would rather be cut than fight him. You know what, it was one of those very wierd situations to hear one of the top five guys in the world say I’d rather be cut than fight a guy who isn’t ranked. And the reason that they were saying was because oh he’s not top ten. But then when we offer him Brandon Vera he took it in two seconds. Vera isn’t top ten either.
Someone asked me this question earlier, but the reality is that Shogun is a guy whom I respect, he been in a million wars with all the best in the world, but for some reason he does not wanna fight this dude Glover. And you know me, if you don’t want me to tell the truth, don’t say that stuff to me on the phone. That’s exactly what happened, that’s exactly the way it went down.
And me and Lorenzo said ‘Listen dude, you can’t be turning down fights at this level. With the money you’re making and where you are ranked in the world, you don’t turn down fights at this level. We might have to cut you’ and he said ‘I’d rather be cut than fight him.’
Where one can make the argument that a fight with Teixeira does little to nothing for Shogun’s status in the UFC, the same goes twice over for Vera. Say what you want about “The Truth’s” accolades and list of past opponents, but Vera is nowhere near ready for a fight with Shogun at this point in his career. As for Mauricio, it’s like DW said — he isn’t in the position to be turning down any fights in the UFC. Yes he’s a legend, but the fact is, he gets paid to fight whoever the UFC deems fit for him to fight. Plus, he’s gone win-loss in his past six fights, with only one of those victories coming over a fighter who was truly in his prime (Machida).
If he doesn’t like the fights he’s being offered, he should retire or asked to be released from his contract; it’s as simple as that. The fact that the UFC has basically catered to his demands by giving him a fight with Vera, who is even further down the rankings than Teixeira at this point, is both nonsensical and counter-intuitive to the point they are trying to make. But it’s not like they’re going to release a commodity as hot as Shogun on a whim, so perhaps it was just an empty threat more than anything.
The only reason anyone would even tune into Shogun/Vera is for the chance to see a vintage Shogun performance, and as we mentioned earlier, placing it as the headliner of a UFC on FOX card surely wont help the promotion’s ever-dwindling ratings on the network. Personally, Shogun’s ducking of this fight kind of leaves the impression that he doesn’t exactly have the title picture in mind, or would rather just take the easiest path to that shot as possible.
But what do you think of this, Potato Nation? Should Shogun be punished for such a move rather than rewarded, or has he somehow earned the right to tell his bosses how what to do?
The UFC’s incredibly annoying run of injuries has held strong over the last few days, and one of the latest fights to get scrapped was the one-time UFC on FOX 4 main event between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard. Stann was forced from the bout wit…
The UFC’s incredibly annoying run of injuries has held strong over the last few days, and one of the latest fights to get scrapped was the one-time UFC on FOX 4 main event between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard.
Stann was forced from the bout with a shoulder injury and Lombard has since been moved to the UFC 149 card in order to replace Michael Bisping against Tim Boetsch.
But in the spot that Lombard and Stann once occupied, the UFC has added a light heavyweight battle that may not make the most sense as far as rankings are concerned, but it is guaranteed to be exciting.
Shogun Rua is currently trying to get back on track after suffering a decision loss to Dan Henderson in one of the greatest fights in MMA history back at UFC 139, and his new opponent Brandon Vera, who was cut from the UFC as recently as last spring, is now being thrust back into the main-event picture.
The fight is one of the most unexpected bouts the UFC has announced for some time, but due to the insane amount of injuries and fights being cancelled, fans seem to be giving UFC matchmaker Joe Silva the benefit of the doubt with this matchup.
Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?
With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…
Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?
With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…
Does “The Truth” deserve a headlining spot on a major UFC card at this point? Probably not. But as you can see, the UFC is losing warm bodies on a daily basis, and their options are limited. Where’s your God reason and science now, Joe Silva?
