They say all good things must come to an end, and at UFC 283 a legend of the sport entered the Octagon one last time. It was not the fairytale send off Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua was looking for, but that is the way this sport seems to go – sometimes it does not like the legends of the sport riding off into the sunset with one last win. Father time likes to remind these warriors it is just as unforgiving at the end as it was when they suffered their first loss in the sport.
Even with a loss, it still is an amazing way to call the end of your career, hanging up the gloves on your own terms in your home country of Brazil surrounded by friends, coaches and family. It may go down on paper as a losing effort but the love and support shown should make the retirement that much sweeter.
It is hard to believe that Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua spent 16 years of his career in the UFC, but fans look back at his Pride years with so much fondness that you forget he graced the UFC Octagon more than he was in the legendary Pride ring. It just goes to show how fast and furious he made a name for himself in Pride.
It was nice to see in his last interview inside the Octagon that Shogun seemed to be at peace with the decision to retire. There isn’t much left for him to do in the sport – he is already a UFC Hall-of-Famer, inducted in the fight wing for his fight with Dan Henderson at UFC 139. He is a former UFC Light heavyweight champion and a former 2005 grand prix winner. The godfather of soccer kicks had ups and downs throughout his career, but he can exit proud of his accomplishments throughout the wins and losses as they don’t come any more badass than Shogun.
Pride of 2005
If a new fan of the sport of MMA was looking to get some insight on why Saturday was special and sad all in the same moment, all they would have to do is go on UFC Fight Pass and binge watch Shogun’s Pride 2005 Grand Prix run. He beat Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Antonio Rogério Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, and Ricardo Arona. That is such a star-studded list of top talent in 2005 and the violent way of getting those fights done was impressive.
You can see the love that the world of MMA has for Rua with his loss to Ihor Potieria, as the MMA community took to social media and showed their distaste for Potieria’s dance moves after the fight.
Both men showed respect to one another by hugging, so it’s hard to attack Ihor for the excitement of getting a win over a legend in Shogun’s home country as the fans are chanting “You are Going to Die”, but he did just retire a legend so Ihor will get some flack going forward.
Legendary Statistics
- 42 Fights 27 wins 14 losses
- Wins by knockout 21
- Wins by submission 1
- Wins by decision 5
- Draws 1
- 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
- Knockout of the Night (Three times) vs. Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida and James Te Huna
- Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson (x2), Antônio Rogério Nogueira
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Tyson Pedro
With the legendary career coming to an end, what memory of Shogun was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
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