Shogun Rua Believes He’s Two Wins Away From A Title Shot
Former Pride and UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is a true fighting legend. Rua is only 32 years old, but he has competed in 31 professional mixed martial arts fights, absorbing boatloads of damage.
Losing four out of his last six fights, some have been calling for “Shogun” to retire. However, the Brazilian vowed to continue fighting and believes he still has one title run left in him. “Shogun” gave his thoughts to MMAFighting.com:
“I believe so, but I can’t think about it. I only think about winning my next fight. I have to focus only on my next fight, and not my next ones. If I start thinking about my next three fights, I might lose focus on my next one.”
Despite possibly nearing the end of his historic career, Rua also claims that he is still very motivated:
“I want to win no matter how. I just want to win,” he said. “I’m really happy to be doing another UFC main event. This is something that gives me an extra motivation. I’m really, really motivated.”
The last time we saw “Shogun” in the octagon, it was against fellow UFC and Pride veteran Dan Henderson. Rua actually had some success against “Hendo” early, almost finishing the fight.
However, Henderson battled back and brutally knocked out “Shogun” in the third round, breaking “Shogun’s” nose as well. After the fight, Rua underwent surgery regarding the broken nose and admits he is feeling better:
“I can breathe way better now. I hope it helps me during the fight as well. I had a huge deviated septum, and I believe I will be better after this surgery. I slowly returned to training. I couldn’t spar, but I was able to train jiu-jitsu and other things, and I returned to training a long time ago.””
The next time we see him enter the cage will be against British striker Jimi Manuwa in the main event of UFC Fight Night 56 on November 8, 2014 from Uberlandia, Brazil.
This fight has all the makings for a stand-up brawl as the two combatants have a combined 32 knockout finishes in 36 professional victories. Rua expects the fight to play out on the feet:
“He likes to keep it standing and strike, and so do I. He’s a good fighter, so it’s going to be an interesting fight for the fans. He definitely deserves my respect, but I’m getting ready to win.”
Do you believe “Shogun” when he says he has one more run left in him for UFC gold? Or is it simply time for the fighting legend to hang up his gloves once and for all?
