Through the ups and downs of his career, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has never lost his love for the game. That devotion has allowed the 35-year-old, one of the last men standing from the storied PRIDE era, to not just put together his two-fight winning streak since 2009, but to remain relevant in the light heavyweight division as he heads into his Saturday co-main event against Gian Villante.
“I love what I do,” Rua said through translator / manager Eduardo Alonso. “I am a fighter, and I never stopped enjoying it. The day I stop enjoying my job is the day I’ll retire. What really makes it tough sometimes are the injuries, rehab and such. This is the tough part, and a routine that gets tougher and tougher to enjoy. I have been in so many surgeries and rehabs over the years that I lost count (laughs). Still, it’s part of the game and I still like to train and, most of all, I like to fight.”
He is likely to get a fight out of New York’s Villante, a recipient of three Fight of the Night awards in his last four bouts, and someone who doesn’t mind taking a shot to give two back. It’s the recipe for a boost to both men’s bank accounts,
Corey Anderson.
“Over the course of the years I learned not to put additional pressure on myself thinking about the future, and just take it a fight at a time,” he said. “Win the next one, and then think about the next step, and it goes on.”
And with that, a fighter’s confidence grows.
“It’s very important, especially in the UFC, where everybody is so evenly matched, and there´s a world of pressure on your shoulders to win,” Rua said. “When you have been winning, you are more confident in your skills and don’t hesitate much to pull the trigger. That can make a big difference in a fight. You can´t get too comfortable though, because if you become too lazy as a fighter it usually leads to trouble. Being a bit alert is also always important.”
Thirty-five fights into a storied career, Mauricio Rua may have figured out the fight game. Now it’s up to him to take that knowledge and hope that injuries don’t rear their ugly head and his body decides to go along with the program. If everything clicks, it’s going to be some ride for “Shogun” in 2017.
“I usually like to fight twice or three times per year, but the last couple of years circumstances ended up making me fight just once in both 2015 and 2016,” he said. “The TUF Brazil filming, plus injuries, didn’t help much. I was fortunate that I got the chance to fight on the Curitiba card, which was so important to me, and I was supposed to have fought later but had some minor injuries that stopped me from doing so. Now I’m happy to be back. It’s still early in the year, so hopefully I’ll fight a couple more times in 2017. Let’s do this fight first though, and after that we will make plans for what will come next.”
