The end of a storied career for Maurício Shogun Rua is coming next year.
In the early days of the UFC, the fighters seemed almost bigger than life. They were monstrous fighters who would put it all on the line for glory and the UFC belt. One man who personified this more than most is Maurício Shogun Rua. Rua came to the UFC back in 2007 after a successful career in PRIDE. He immediately fit into the light heavyweight division and started to win. Now, 15 years later he will be making his last walk to the cage in front of his home fans in Brazil.
There have been talks that Rua has been wanting to retire from the sport of MMA for some time now. He is now 40 years old and planning his retirement bout. As a former UFC champion, it is only right for him to get a hero’s send-off and for Rua that means fighting one last time in Brazil.
Maurício Shogun Rua will have one last fight in the UFC Octagon at UFC 283
Rua will be taking on Ihor Potieria at UFC 283 on January 21 in the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The news was first reported by Alex Behunin on Twitter. Potieria came to the UFC on The Contender Series last year. He has had only one fight since his signing, a loss to Nicolae Negumereanu back in July. Rua is winless in his past two fights but is hoping to go out on top against the young Potieria.
During his career, Rua has faced some of the best the UFC has ever seen. He was matched up with Chuck Liddell, Chael Sonnen, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones, and Lyoto Machida back in the day. There was a possibility that the UFC was going to bring Machida back for one last fight. The plan laid out by Machida’s management was to match him up with Rua for a trilogy fight as a possible last bout for both men. Machida is not currently signed with the UFC and it seemed that idea was only a pipedream.
UFC 283 will feature a large number of Brazilian fighters. This is the first time the UFC is returning to Brazil since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be headlined by a flyweight title bout between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and interim champion Brandon Moreno.
The rest of the fight card to date is as follows:
Welterweight bout: Mounir Lazzez vs. Gabriel Bonfim
Women’s Featherweight bout: Josiane Nunes vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
Middleweight bout: Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
Light Heavyweight bout: Maurício Rua vs. Ihor Potieria
