Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has experienced some monumental ups and some demoralizing downs in his career. He rose to stardom in Pride, where he was a wrecking machine and was found kicking peoples heads in with uncaring ruthlessness.
Shogun has destroyed most of his opponents. The list is star-studded, with names such as Rampage, Rogerio Noguiera, and Randleman. However, his greatest high came on August 28th, 2005 in the Pride Grand Prix.
On this magical night, Shogun faced Alistair Ovreem in the semi-finals; Shogun had no problem dismantling Ovreem inside seven minutes with strikes.
In the final, he faced the extremely dangerous Jiu Jitsu specialist Ricardo Arona. However, Shogun obliterated Arona in less than three minutes via brutal strikes. This win cemented his place as one of the best 205 pounders in the world.
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With only one loss on his record at this point, nobody thought he would experience any downs for quite a while.
That thought was wrong. In his next bought against the wrestling powerhouse and daddy of ground and pound Mark Coleman, he suffered a debilitating loss.
While Coleman tried for the takedown Shogun fell awkwardly, resulting in a dislocated elbow. The devastation of the loss was compounded with a brawl in the ring between Chute Boxe and team Hammer House.
Despite this loss, Shogun returned with four dominating wins in a row, two coming against Randleman and Ovreem again.
After these wins, the American fans were now going to get to see the Pride superstar, due to the UFC's purchase Pride. His first opponent was Forrest Griffin; many thought Griffin was going to take a battering. But, Griffin had different ideas.
Griffin pushed the pace at a level that Shogun could not tolerate. With 15 seconds left in round three, Griffin did the unimaginable and choked Shogun out.
After the loss, Shogun was heavily criticized due to for "terrible" cardio. However, it is thought that Shogun went into the fight with a substantial knee injury. But, nothing can be taken away from the now present Light-Heavyweight Champ Griffin.
Since this loss, things have gotten worse for Shogun. A scheduled bout with Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 had to be scrapped due to a horrible knee injury which required surgery.
Now, after more than a year out, Shogun will make his return at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland against Mark Coleman, the man that dislocated his elbow. Can he come back with a bang and avenge the loss decisively? I believe he can.
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about 1 month ago
I hope the Shogun I remember from Pride comes back. With his injuries and slow rehab there have been rumors about him slipping in his training, I guess we'll have to wait till Jan 17th to see if its true.
about 1 month ago
Pretty good article. I just wish you would have gone into a little further detail on why you believe he'll come back and win tho... You didn't really explain yourself.
about 1 month ago
thats up for the reader to decide. i think he may be a little rusty from the knee injuries and lengthy time out from fighting
about 1 month ago
i don't think a fighter in his prime can perform at his peak with only 2 fights in 2 years, let alone one with multiple surgeries on his knees. With that being said I think coleman is a perfect opponent for him. We might see flashes of the old shogun in that fight but I'm a little skeptical as to whether he will ever be the same again ... I feel bad for him and wish him the best going forward though.
about 1 month ago
My personal feelings aside about how I would like the fight to go, I just want to see a health and prepared Shogun. He needs a good step in the right direction to get what could still be an incredible legacy back on track.
about 1 month ago
yea i just hope all of these injuries etc wont catch up with him too much and hope he is psychologically right to fight coleman, a dislocated elbow would be hard too forget.
but i get the feeling he will stop coleman
about 1 month ago
I get the feeling this won't last past the first round. I think Shogun will snap back into it half-way through the first round and dominate Coleman. This is a great opponent for Shogun's mentality, he'll avenge a loss and get back to winning all in one fight.
about 1 month ago
It would be good to see him come back. Here's hoping!
about 1 month ago
yea definatly want to see the old shogun comeback and have a run for the title
about 1 month ago
if Shogun bursts back the way i think he will it will make the LHW division even more fun to watch that it was before, i'm rooting for a 100% shogun
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