Intermission

Mauricio Shogun Rua was a star in Pride FC, utilizing stomps and soccer kicks along side of his agressive style he dominated his way through the Pride middleweight grand prix and winning it in 2005. The first round of the tournament Mauricio saw Rampage Jackson, as a heavy underdog many people didn't think much of Rua, until he dominated Jackson that is. He broke many of Jacksons ribs and finished the fight with soccer kicks to the face of Rampage. People then were fully aware of his skill set and he went into the second fight with a much larger fanbase, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was fully aware of this skill set but there was nothing he could do to stop the young up and comer. Rua won the fight via unanimous decision and saw himself in the semi-finals of the middleweight grand prix. The last two rounds were held on the same night, first it was Alistair Overeem the very qualified dutch striker who was also favoured in that fight. Once again Shogun impressed the world with a first round knockout, advancing him into his second fight of the night but more importantly the finals of the grand prix. Much like his fight just a few hours prior, he knocked out Ricardo Arona.

After a heartbreakin loss and a huge upset to Forrest Griffin he rebounded and revenged his second career loss to Mark Coleman, stopping the wrestler late in the third round. This win pushed him up the ladder Chuck Lidell, he pulled a trick out of Lidells game plan and kocked him out in the very first round of their bout at UFC 97. After he shocked the world again, the UFC was impressed and gave him a title shot against Loyoto Machida. Many people didn't give Shogun the chance he deserved going into the fight, after all it was the "Machida era". After a 5 round war which I scored 3-2 for Shogun, a very contriversial decision saw Machida keeping his belt. Shogun was determined to win his second bout with Machida after it was official he was getting an immideate rematch. The second fight went much differently then the first, Rua wasn't going to let it get to the judges this time and he knocked Machida out at 3:35 in the very first round.

Shortly after the fight Rua's knee was bothering him and it was declared the he needed surgery to repair the demage. How will Shogun recover from this setback? We will find out against the strong Rashad Evans at UFC 128. One thing is for sure, Shogun will not be the underdog this time.

Written by Andrew Castro

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John8204

Kay....so uh what do you want to talk about

MrObjective

You could of summed it up with he was a young underdog till he beat the hell out of Rampage, then he was regarded as the best.

When he started in the UFC, he was absolutely awful fighting Forrest and Coleman. When he fought Chuck he won, early KO, but there was a question mark still considering Chuck was KNFO his previous fight and Shogun's two lackluster performances.

Coming in against Machida, he shocked a lot of people by moving and striking like he did in Pride, seemingly healthy again. During the 2nd fight he was the clear favorite. Against Rashad he'll be the favorite again.

Intermission

I actually felt bad for Rampage in that fight, poor ribs lol. Your right, he wasn't the underdog in Machida vs Rua 2 but he also wasnt the champion (He should have been !)

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HexRei

Writing only has 1 "t".

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His helmet was stifling, it narrowed his vision. And he must see far. His shield was heavy. It threw him off balance. And his target is far away.

MrObjective

I'm pretty sure Machida broke some ribs after the first fight as well. He was damaged goods going in to the 2nd fight.

Intermission

Not only his ribs but his legs were toast, he could barely walk. I don't want to start one of those discussions again but I don't know what the judges saw.

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BobbyCooper

He was the underdog!

I think Shogun should be the underdog again after his return next year against Rashad. I mean when did he look good after a knee surgery?

RudeBoySes

+ 1

Very well written!

Although this knowledge is out there.. it's still exhilarating to read again.. I cannot express how much i admire the Chute Box style ! I love the vicious Muay Thai, devastating leg kicks, and under-utilized knees!

I have been a fan of Shogun since Pride.. it's a shame he had to destroy Alistair on his way to the title.. but atleast Alistair has the fight under his belt.

This article makes me miss Pride..

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