The legendary career of the former UFC light heavyweight champion and PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix winner ends after loss to Ihor Potieria at UFC 283
Despite a strong start for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, his UFC run will end in a loss via first-round finish against Ihor Potieria in the featured preliminary bout of UFC 283.
Though it ends in this manner, however, it does not take away from one of the most legendary careers the MMA world has ever seen.
“I wanted to end my career with a win, but I’m going stop it right here,” Rua said, via a translator. “I’ve been in the game for 21 years — the UFC for 16. I want to thank…everyone that made it happen for all these years.”
Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua retires following loss vs. Ihor Potieria at UFC 283
Rua’s venture into professional MMA began in late 2002, debuting with wins in four straight fights before a loss to UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral. The fight with Sobral was also his last before joining PRIDE.
Rua made his PRIDE debut at the first PRIDE Bushido event in October 2003, scoring a first-round knockout of Akira Shoji. It marked the start of an eight-fight winning streak that ultimately culminated with the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix. That tournament saw Rua defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (aka “Lil Nog”), Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona to claim the tournament title.
After a loss to Mark Coleman at heavyweight, Rua won four more times in PRIDE before the promotion’s closure. Rua then joined the UFC.
While his UFC debut ended in a submission loss to Forrest Griffin, TKO victories over Coleman and Chuck Liddell earned him a light heavyweight title shot against Lyoto Machida. While their original fight saw Rua drop a controversial decision at UFC 104, their rematch at UFC 113 saw Rua score a first-round knockout to capture the UFC’s 205-pound title.
His title reign would not last long, however. In his first title defense ten months later, Rua was defeated for the belt by the man who’d rule light heavyweight throughout the 2010s — Jon Jones.
Since then, Rua didn’t get another shot at UFC gold, but he currently is tied with Jones, Ovince Saint Preux and Glover Teixeira for most post-fight bonuses in UFC light heavyweight history with eight (something Teixeira can snap tonight in his championship main event bout with Jamahal Hill).
Rua also entered the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018 thanks to his 2011 fight with Dan Henderson at UFC 139.
