Ten years removed from their PRIDE classic in 2005, UFC light heavyweights Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira rematched in the co-main event of UFC 190, but the stakes were substantially different. While their first fight was all about advancing in PRIDE’s middleweight tournament, this one was a matter of proving which one could still maintain relevancy in the UFC’s LHW division.
Shogun landed a nice inside leg kick. Nogueira ducked a Shogun punch and then went into a clinch but missed on a big left hand. Nogueira landed a right to the body midway through the opening round. Shogun was the primary aggressor. Both men connected with punches and then Shogun threw a high kick and a hard body kick. Shogun got tagged with a left to the temple and Nogueira swarmed on him as he wobbled. A big knee by Nogueira and Shogun could hardly stand. Hurt and against the cage, Shogun landed two solid left hooks but then got drilled with two big knees. The horn sounded to end the first round.
Shogun played it safe and took Nogueira down. From half-guard, Shogun was not doing anything significant, and as he tried advancing to side mount, Nogueira swept him and goet back to his feet. Shogun leaned against Nogueira on the fence, which drew more boos from the crowd after they’d already booed the ground work. Mario Yamasaki separated them and back to striking they went. Solid body kicks from Shogun but Nogueira, as ever, at least gave off the impression that they didn’t hurt. It was a strong 2nd round for Shogun to even up the fight.
Shogun countered a knee to the body with a trip takedown attempt, which Lil’ Nog defended well. The body kicks thudded the moment Shogun threw them and they landed on Nogueira’s midsection. Nogueira fired away a left. A big right hand tagged Nogueira who didn’t even move somehow. Shogun pushed for the takedown again and Lil’ Nog stuffed it. Halfway through the 3rd and Shogun’s diverse striking and volume was taking over. A last-ditch attempt to finish the fight came from Nogueira, who latched onto a guillotine choke on Shogun’s last takedown attempt. Rua popped free and landed two shots to finish off the fight.
Official result: Mauricio Rua (23-10, 7-8 UFC) def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-6, 4-3 UFC) via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
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