Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua guts out victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
A decade after their first fight, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua got his second victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a back-and-forth battle at UFC 190.
The first bout is considered one of the greatest fights of all time and while a lot of time has passed, “Shogun” and Nogueira did their best for a repeat.
The fight started with both men staying in a technical battle on the feet with Rua as the aggressor, stalking Nogueira across the cage. Rua cracked Nogueira with a hard body kick followed by a head kick, and it looked like he was in complete control.
But it all changed late in the round when Nogueira clipped Rua with a quick left hand that rattled the former PRIDE Grand Prix champion and sent him reeling against the cage.
Nogueira pressed forward and opened up a barrage of punches with Rua just ducking his head and throwing punches trying to survive. Rua eventually backed Nogueira off long enough for the round to come to an end so he could recover in the corner.
"I did feel that punch and I was a bit groggy for a while," Rua said about the near knockout in the first round.
After nearly being finished in round one, “Shogun” actually secured a takedown as soon as the second round started, but Nogueira was able to avoid any damage and work his way back to the feet.
The time on the ground gave “Shogun” enough time to clear the cobwebs, and he was able to pepper Nogueira with another pair of nasty body kicks as well as a left hand that cascaded off his opponent's jaw.
The third round saw more of the same from Rua as he continued to assault Nogueira's midsection while trying to avoid a potent boxing attack from his opponent. “Shogun” opted to go for another takedown but ended up in guillotine choke that nearly secured a finish before the fight came to an end.
Once it was all over, the judges all scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Rua, who gets his second victory over Nogueira -- 10 years after their first fight in Japan.
"I knew that he was a tough guy but I won," Rua said at the conclusion of the fight. "I got the victory."
While “Shogun” will probably never be a top contender again, he proved that he can still go to war with another legend and gut out a victory when he needed it most.
