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Will 2009 be the year of the Shogun?

Published on: 27th November, 2008

Will 2009 be the year of the Shogun?  | read this item

Shogun Rua says a rematch with Forrest would have a different result.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is on a comeback trail now that his surgically repaired knee has fully recovered from being blown out twice in a year, and he will begin that trail looking to avenge his loss to Mark Coleman at UFC 93 in January. Another fight that he may come down that road is a previous loss to current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. A fight which Rua thinks would have a different result in a rematch if he was given a second chance down the line.

Rua spoke to Tatame about a possible rematch down the line with the Light Heavyweight champion.

“Certainly it would be different,” Rua said. “The difference is I would be better prepared and more focused.” “That is no excuse, to acknowledge his victory, but I lost that fight for myself.”

Many people who watched the bout thought that Rua did not take the bout serious, being he was such a big favorite coming over from Pride FC to face the unestablished Griffin. His physique was clearly not the same, and he did run out of energy in the second round of their fight. Rua did also report before the fight that he did injure his knee, but perhaps underestimated Griffin’s ability to take him deep into the fight.

Shogun stomp

Shogun stomp

For those of you who are not familiar with Shogun’s wrath of destruction while fighting in the Japanese promotion Pride, he was possibly the crown jewel in the Pride buyout by Zuffa. Rua is athletic, seasoned and possibly one of the most talented  mixed martial artists under 30 years old. He won one of the hardest Championship belts there is to attain, a Grand Prix championship back in 2005 when he beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in back to back bouts. Then defeated Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona by Knockout in the same night to capture the tournament title.

Part of the reason Rua never got a title shot while in Pride was the fact that one of his closest friends Wanderlei Silva was the champion. Now his path to a title starts with Mark Coleman and can possibly have Forrest Griffin as a proverbial “Fork in the road”. If there ever was a fighter in 2009 to watch out for it may be Rua, who will look to make the new year the year of the Shogun.

 Narcisist is the Co-owner of UR Dirt and is the designer, editor and author. URDirt.com is a MMA blog that covers the UFC, WEC, StrikeForce, DREAM and several other Mixed Martial Art promotions. Read more from this author

Readers Comments

  1. Fedor is legendNo Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 3:03 am  (Quote)

    I hope you are right Shogun is one of the best fighters to ever come out of Pride I dont want to see his career over because he cant stay in shape. Then all the UFC haters will use it as an excuse to say he was on steroids in Pride.

    Reply to this Comment
  2. Gogo-13No Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 3:05 am  (Quote)

    I am jumping on that war wagon who’s coming with me?

    Reply to this Comment
  3. Fozziebear1No Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 3:09 am  (Quote)

    I think he would beat the ever living shit out of forrest in a rematch and walk away with his head too

    Reply to this Comment
  4. Harry sackNo Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 3:10 am  (Quote)

    Shogun is going to send Coleman home to collect his Social security check after he breaks his old man hip with a kick

    Reply to this Comment
  5. NemesisNo Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 3:21 am  (Quote)

    Shogun is the man he needs to get healthy he should go to Extreme Couture with Wandy and train

    Reply to this Comment
  6. Tbag420No Gravatar says:
    November 27, 2008 at 11:57 am  (Quote)

    Anyone who says Shogun and the rest of the Pride guys wasn’t on roids is foolong themselves Pride didn’t even test for it. Once they came here 4 guys tested positive

    Reply to this Comment
  7. Larry McGladeNo Gravatar says:
    November 28, 2008 at 1:09 am  (Quote)

    I hope he does have a great year, but before there was Shogun, there was Ninja!

    His record may not reflect it, but he is one of the best too! In Pride he had a lot of hard fought battles, many of which he won, but some shady judging he lost them on decisions. Like his losses against Dan Henderson, Rampage, etc.
    Although in Japan, losses weren’t necessary losses if you fought hard, but here in the US it’s win or nothing.

    Not that that matters now anyway because of late Ninja has been anything BUT stellar, losing to guys he would’ve destroyed in the past without blinking, including his latest disappointing performance against Benji Radach.
    I think he’s now fighting at his competitions level and actually below it since, he’s been losing.
    I hope he has a great comeback year too.

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