Ten years ago, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio “Minotouro” Nogueira delivered one of the best fights in history at Pride Critical Countdown 2005. It was a back and forth slugfest that Rua ultimately won on points. This Saturday, both men are set to meet again in a battle of TUF coaches, and promised to put on another instant classic.
Shogun and “Lil Nog” served as opposing coaches for the latest installment of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil and will square off in Saturday’s co-main event, right after the two final fights of the season.
“I expect a tough fight, man,” Rua told members of the media at a press event yesterday, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “‘Minotouro’ is a tough fighter, has a huge heart, so I expect another war, just like in our 2005 fight. He likes to strike and so do I, so a brawl is inevitable, right? I’ve been fighting for over 10 years, and so does he, so I’m sure we both will keep it standing. It’s MMA, but our best weapon is our striking game.”
Back in 2005, Shogun was training with the infamous Chute Boxe team around coach Rafael Cordeiro and killers such as Wanderlei Silva and Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons. After a tough stint in the UFC — Rua only managed to win six of his last 14 fights — he is now back with Cordeiro and worked extensively on his Muay Thai.
“What motivated me to train with Rafael is that he focuses more on muay thai, and that’s my best game,” Rua said. “I trained more muay thai for this fight, and that’s what I love. He’s a MMA coach but he’s a muay thai expert. Master Rafael knows my game and he trains what I do best, muay thai. I train happier with him.”
Nogueira, on the other hand, is very confident that he can emerge victorious this time. While the Olympic boxer scored with crips punches in the first encounter, the clinch and knee strikes of Muay Thai specialist Rua have been the decisive factor in the fight.
“I’m confident, and I believe the fight could be a little different this time,” he said. “I’m stronger, heavier than when we fought the first time. I weighed 213 pounds at that time, and I weighed 227 pounds when I started my camp — and I believe I will weigh 227 pounds on fight night. I will be stronger to fight him in the clinch.”
UFC 190 is headlined by a women’t bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Bethe Correia and will take place this Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(Transcription via MMA Fighting)