JACKSON SET FOR RUA FIGHT

. No comments.

It might just happen that Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson does not want to step into the octagon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the UFC but it does not mean that the former champion will be lacking any motivation when he does step into the ring to fight against Mauricio Shogun Rua. Rampage is slated to fight against his former PRIDE FC colleague later in the year after he has undergone a double knee surgery that has been prescribed to him for one last bow in the UFC ring.

It was just a few weeks that Jackson made the headlines when he accused the UFC of giving him tough matches that were impossible for him to win, against fighters that were bent on ruining him. He also blamed the UFC for trying to ruin his fan base this way but he has agreed to see out his contract which has one match left in it.

He requested for a match with a striker and not only did the UFC agree to it, but also granted him the match against Mauricio Shogun Rua, something that Rampage had been craving for a long time. Rampage stated in an interview that he wanting to fight Shogun had nothing personal in it. He further added that while Shogun was coming up, he was the best and he knew that he could beat him at that time if not for his ankle, which did not heal in time.

And that rematch is something that Jackson will bow out with. Mauricio Rua was the last man who was successful in knocking out Quinton Rampage Jackson while they were still fighting in PRIDE FC and all Rampage wants to do is go out of the UFC by knocking out the last man who gave him the same fate.

RUA LOOKS TO UFC

. No comments.

Mauricio Shogun Rua had a near war-like situation near the end of the last year when he fought Dan Henderson at UFC 139. The fight was amazing and earned Shogun more respect than anything else. In fact, he is probably the only fighter who has earned more respect from his supporters in a match that he lost than the ones he won.

Henderson looked very strong in the beginning of the match and it looked like it would be an easy one. Add to it the fact that Shogun was injured and it looked like it would be a complete whitewash. The Brazilian, however, had other plans. The early parts of the match looked like it would be 10-8 rounds in favor of Henderson. Shogun fought back and hurt Henderson badly. The turnaround took even his opponent by surprise and Rua fought Henderson to the ground. The match is regarded as one of the best matches of 2011 by the MMA fans, second only to the one between Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez. In the end, the decision went against Mauricio, something that is still looked at as one of the poorest refereeing decisions of the year.

The Brazilian mixed martial artist is putting all that behind him and looking to come back in to the fighting ring soon. He was a former UFC champion in the lightweight category and he is looking to get back in contention. He is currently in training and waiting to hear from the UFC about his next fight. He hopes to get that call soon. When asked if he had any ideas about who he would be up against, he simply said that if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that it would be a tough guy he would be up against.

Focus on: Mauricio Rua

. No comments.

Mauricio Milani Rua is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion who stands at 6 feet 1 inches and weighs 93 kgs and is part Italian and part Portuguese. Born on November 25th, 1981 in Curitiba, Brazil, he has been trained in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

This Brazilian has been trained by Nino Schembri and Rafael Cordeiro and is a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and also in the Chute Boxe Muay Thai system.

Maurício Rua has been active around the circuit from 2002 and has many achievements to his name. He was the winner of the Pride Fighting Championship’s 2005 Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix. He was previously ranked the No. 10 Pound For Pound fighter in the world and is currently ranked as the No. 3 Light Heavyweight fighter by Sherdog and MMAWeekly.

Maurício was the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion in 2005, the Ultimate Fighting Champion and the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion once.

He also won awards like Knockout of the Night twice and Fight of the Night also twice. In Sherdog, also in the same year, Rua won the Fight of the Year Award when he wrestled Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on June 26th. Rua married physiotherapist Renata Ribeiro in 2007 and they had their first child, Maria Eduarda, in 2010.

Before he become a fighter he worked as a modeled for books, pictures, and even fashion shows for brands in Brazil. Though he liked the experience very much he decided to fight exclusively and make a name for himself in the field which he loved and respected and had gained so much from. Due to his close and friendly relationship with Wanderlei Silva and of course with his own brother Murilo Rua, Maurício Rua has affirmed that he would never fight these two people in his life. In the World MMA Awards, Rua won the Knockout of the Year in 2010 when he played against Lyoto Machida on May 8th.

Recently on November 19th, 2011 Mauricio Rua faced Dan Henderson at UFC 139 where he demonstrated good head movement and footwork and good accuracy and striking power.