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.”
