Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will combat for the ultimate time of his legendary profession on Saturday evening when he faces Ihor Potieria at UFC 283. Rua’s retirement will finish a profession that has spanned greater than 20 years and virtually completely consisted of preventing on the world’s greatest stage.
After simply 5 professional bouts, the final of which noticed him endure his first defeat, Rua debuted for PRIDE FC. In the goliath Japanese promotion, Rua rose to a place as the most effective 205-pound fighters on this planet earlier than a transition to the UFC, the place he grew to become world champion.
In celebration of an incredible profession from the most effective gentle heavyweights in MMA historical past, let’s have a look again at 5 defining fights from the profession of “Shogun.”
Akira Shoji (PRIDE Bushido 1 — Oct. 5, 2003)
Rua made his massive stage debut towards PRIDE mainstay Shoji, who had battled Renzo Gracie to a draw within the promotion’s debut occasion and piled up 17 fights within the PRIDE ring earlier than assembly Rua. Those fights ranged from the conventional to battles with monsters who dwarfed his 5-foot-8 body, corresponding to Mark Coleman and Semmy Schilt.
Shoji bull-rushed Rua to the bottom within the opening moments of the bout and was practically caught in a kneebar as Shoji seemed to convey the combat to a fast conclusion. Rua was capable of escape the maintain earlier than introducing the world to the soccer kicks that may develop into a defining transfer of his time in PRIDE. Shoji would get yet one more takedown off of a missed Rua kick and a 3rd takedown shortly after Rua labored again to his ft and landed just a few punches. Shoji even briefly managed to get to mount earlier than Rua escaped but once more, this time touchdown a fight-ending barrage of punches earlier than one remaining stomp to the downed Shoji to convey the combat to an in depth.
Shoji was removed from the highest expertise or greatest identify Rua would combat in his profession, however it was an announcement that he was prone to be a giant participant in PRIDE’s middleweight (205-pound) division. And Rua’s use of soccer kicks and stomps would play a component in 4 of his first 5 fights within the PRIDE ring.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 — April 23, 2005)
Rua rattled off three extra wins earlier than gaining entry into the celebrated PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix. He was given something however a lightweight contact within the opening spherical, getting matched up with Jackson, who had dominated competitors in his PRIDE run aside from middleweight kingpin Wanderlei Silva and tough submission wizard Kazushi Sakuraba, who submitted Jackson in a wild combat in Jackson’s PRIDE debut.
After his second loss to Silva, Jackson received again within the win column by beating Rua’s brother, Murilo, earlier than the beginning of the event. The win over Murilo was a controversial one for Jackson and Mauricio was out to achieve revenge for his brother, along with advancing within the event.
The combat was largely a blowout for Rua as he utilized a clinch to manage Jackson, land knees to the physique and head and even rating takedowns. Less than 5 minutes into the bout, one other barrage of Rua knees despatched Jackson slumping down the ropes the place Rua completed the combat with a sequence of soccer kicks as Jackson’s head went between the ropes. At simply 24 years outdated, Rua was formally locked in as the most effective fighters within the division.
Ricardo Arona (PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 — Aug. 28, 2005)
After beating Jackson, Rua defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a incredible combat that might completely deserve a spot on this checklist (extra on this later). That combat superior him to Final Conflict, the evening that may see each the semifinal and remaining rounds of the Grand Prix event. In his first combat of the evening, Rua scored a brutal floor and pound knockout of a pre-heavyweight Alistair Overeem to advance to the finals the place he would meet Ricardo Arona, who defeated Wanderlei Silva within the different semifinal bout.
Rua countered the sturdy wrestling sport of Arona, who was clearly the extra fatigued of the 2 fighters, earlier than following up a missed stomp with a sequence of nasty hammerfists that turned out Arona’s lights and secured Rua the event championship.
Storming by the Grand Prix event was the second the place Rua utterly turned himself into one of many world’s finest fighters. Wins over Jackson, Nogueira, Overeem and Arona in a five-month span is arguably essentially the most spectacular run within the historical past of the game.
Lyoto Machida (UFC 113 — May 8, 2010)
Rua’s PRIDE profession noticed him lose just one combat in 12 journeys to the ring, which got here when he suffered a damaged arm towards Mark Coleman. His highly-anticipated UFC debut didn’t go nicely, with a gutsty Forrest Griffin scoring a late third-round submission. Rua would rebound with TKO victories over Coleman and Chuck Liddell to safe a title shot at Lyoto Machida at UFC 104.
Machida escaped the combat with a unanimous resolution win that ranks on most lists of the worst choices in UFC historical past. A rematch was solely pure and it got here at UFC 113 and Rua responded in a giant manner.
Rua once more tried to depend on leg kicks, a technique that was extremely efficient within the first assembly, however that the judges didn’t reward on the scorecards. However, it was an overhand proper that may be the fight-deciding strike. Rua lashed out with the punch as a counter, dropping Machida and ending him with floor and pound.
Despite the Grand Prix victory, the win over Machida was the primary — and solely — time Machida held a world championship.
Dan Henderson (UFC 139 — Nov. 19, 2011)
Rua dropped the title in his first protection, operating into rising famous person Jon Jones at UFC 128. This would kick off a 3-6 stretch for Rua that noticed him tumble from the highest of the sunshine heavyweight mountain. Buried in that stretch, nonetheless, is among the nice fights in UFC historical past. At UFC 139, Rua stepped into the cage towards fellow MMA legend Dan Henderson.
Despite being a non-title bout, the combat headlined the occasion and thus was scheduled for 5 rounds. The two veterans packed practically each second of the 25-minute conflict with motion.
Henderson bloodied and dropped Rua within the first spherical solely to see Rua come again along with his personal knockdown shot as the 2 simply started warming up for the rounds to come back. The ensuing rounds noticed extra knockdowns, massive pictures, takedowns and near-finishes, principally from Henderson earlier than the ultimate two rounds. But Rua, badly bloodied for many of the combat, roared again within the fourth and fifth rounds, repeatedly placing Henderson in peril, gaining mount a number of instances and coming very near scoring a stoppage within the remaining spherical.
Henderson would finally get the win, taking slender 48-47 scorecards throughout the board, however the grit proven by Rua in an epic conflict actually added to his already incredible legacy. The pair would run it again in 2014, once more placing on an incredible combat, although one Henderson was capable of end with strikes within the third spherical.
