Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was determined not to suffer the same fate he had against Lyoto Machida at UFC 104. Rua lost a close decision to Machida that many felt he actually won. There was no doubt left after his performance Saturday night against the former light-heavyweight champion.
Rua (19-4) made quick work of Machida and finally claimed the belt that many felt was rightfully his after the duo’s first fight last October. Many observers feel it was the best Rua looked in a fight since his PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix victory in 2005. He won fights over Rampage Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, and Ricardo Arona to capture the title.
It’s been a long road back to the top for the 28-year-old Brazilian. While dealing with multiple knee injuries, Rua lost his UFC debut fight against Forrest Griffin in Sept. 2007, and won a lackluster fight over Mark Coleman in Jan. 2009. A healthy Rua made quick work of UFC legend Chuck Liddell in April 2009, before dropping the decision to Machida in October.
Now on top of the UFC mountain, Rua is open to any and all challengers, especially Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Randy Couture. He’d also have no problem with Rashad Evans or having a rematch with Rampage Jackson.
“The only guy I wouldn’t fight is Wanderlei Silva because he’s a great friend of mine,” Rua said. “Other than that, whoever the show wants me to fight, I’ll fight.”
“Randy is a hero of mine,” Rua said in response to a fight with the UFC Hall of Famer. “It would be an honor to put my skills up against his and fight for my title. I could see that fight happening very soon.”
