Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 134 blew the roof off Barclaycard Arena last Saturday (July 22, 2018) in Hamburg, Germany.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Glover Teixieria, who was outclassed by late-replacement combatant Corey Anderson, who took it to “Hands of Stone” to score a clear and decisive unanimous decision victory (recap). And Stefan Struve, who suffered his third straight defeat at the hands of Marcin Tybura in heavyweight action.
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?
Mauricio Rua.
Going into his headlining fight against Anthony Smith, “Shogun” couldn’t help but to not think about the unexpected prize on the line after Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier named him as the next title contender. And though I’m sure he tried to focus solely on the task at hand, the jackpot at the end of the rainbow was too hard to overlook.
And now he has to downright forget it, as his championship dreams came crashing down in 90 seconds, as “Lionheart” took it to the Brazilian legend, clipping him with a front kick to the face that would make Anderson Silva proud. And though “Shogun” seemed to have absorbed the blow, it definitely had some effect on him.
A few moments later, Smith drilled Rua with a one-two combo that put him on wobbly legs, forcing “Shogun” to retreat. But Smith followed right through, popping Rua with one shot after another before delivering the knockout blow to an opponent who was already out on his feet.
The loss was a brutal one for Rua in more ways than one, as not only were his light shut out, but so were his title hopes, as he is now no longer eligible to compete for “DC’s” 205-pound strap. One can’t help but wonder if Rua was distracted by all of the championship talk, which wasn’t there up until a few weeks ago. Perhaps the most alarming aspect of the loss was the fact that Rua didn’t pop off any offense.
At all.
Sure the fight didn’t last too long, but he didn’t manage to connect on the few punches he threw. And it was hard to watch Rua try to collect himself immediately after, as he attempted to get up to shake it off with no success.
That’s the fight game; one minute you’re a win away from a title shot after seemingly turning back the hands of time, and the next a tough loss is proving the doubters right. Rua has done it all in the fight game, and for a second there he was on the verge of perhaps getting one final opportunity to win UFC gold. For all of the PRIDE FC die-hards, it was the chance to see the Rua of old.
But in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
At 36 years of age, Rua will likely keep chugging along and I highly doubt he will retire, as the loss was his first in three years. He is still one of the greatest and most exciting fighters to compete in the sport, and his greatness and accomplishments shouldn't be forgotten on the heels of the tough knockout loss.
As for who he should face next, perhaps a fight against the aforementioned Glover Teixeira is in order. “Hands of Stone” had his eyes on Rua when he first stepped foot inside the Octagon years ago, and while both men are not as young and fresh as they were back then, a fight between the two now is better than never.