Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua knows the feeling all too well. The celebrated hype surrounding a young superstar. The praising attention of a loving fanbase. Rua was once in the bright lights himself, soaking up the acclaim from fans and media for brutally burying any man who dared to step into the ring against him. Nearly six years after being crowned the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion, Rua remains one of the best in the sport, winning the UFC’s coveted light heavyweight crown from a perceived unstoppable force in Lyoto Machida in May of last year. But times have changed dramatically over the last year, so dramatically, in fact, that Rua is now playing second fiddle to his challenger Jon Jones.
Jones’ quick rise to the top of the weight class has garnered an extravagant amount of attention in the lead-up to Saturday’s UFC 128 main event title showdown with Rua. The focus has cultivated a stream of storylines hinting at the idea that the UFC and the media alike are putting all of their faith in Jones becoming not only the champion, but a future kingpin at the apex of the division for a very long time. Six impressive wins that featured wild overhead throws and a bevy of different striking techniques to finish off opponents will support those stories. But those stories are looking past one of the true greats of the sport.
Rua ran through the best that PRIDE had to offer during an era in which PRIDE reigned supreme. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem, Kevin Randleman, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Ricardo Arona, and many others succumbed to the power and technique that Rua exhibited inside the ring. His arrival in the UFC was highly-anticipated. Many fans believed he would destroy any challenger in his path to his rightful place at the top of the division. Unfortunately, the UFC’s poster boy, Forrest Griffin, provided a punishing dose of reality, defeating Rua in his debut at UFC 76 in September of 2007.
Rua followed the defeat with victories over Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman, a pair of legends that most fans considered well past their primes. Rua only looked slightly better against Coleman, and many fans felt his victory over Liddell was inevitable considering Chuck’s diminishing chin. It wasn’t until Rua’s five-round war with the elusive Lyoto Machida that fans were treated to a glimpse of the old ‘Shogun’. The decision was controversial, sparking a rematch that allowed Rua to reassert himself as the world’s premier 205 lb. fighter.
Rua’s path to greatness is now an eerie blueprint that Jon Jones has followed. The timeline in terms of age is nearly identical, although Jones has had a quicker, but less tested path to the top. Jones has never tasted a legitimate defeat, nor faced an opponent who has the ability to end a fight at the drop of a hat however. A story that seems to be shrouded by the grandeur of Greco-Roman throws and spinning elbows.
Jones can prove the hype and focus was justified on Saturday night. He could begin a long reign atop the division for years to come, inching closer and closer to legendary status with every victory. But Rua has the opportunity to begin a quest to cement a legacy as one of the greatest fighters of all-time, a thought that has been buried deep in the footnotes of the media’s love affair with Jon Jones. Rua already ended the Machida era abruptly. Is it unfathomable that he derails the existence of the Jon Jones era?