Tag Archives: Lyoto Machida

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to be Inducted into UFC Hall of Fame

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Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is entering a special hall…

The 42-year-old Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, one of the most lethal knockout artists of all time,will be inducted by the UFC into the its Hall of Fame later this year.

Mauricio "Shogun" RuaRua holds a special place in combat history, having won titles in the UFC and Pride Fighting Championship.

He rose to prominence as a member of the famed Chute Boxe Academy and won the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona.

Rua (27-14-1) moved to the UFC when it acquired Pride in 2007. A knockout win over Chuck Liddell in 2009 earned him a light heavyweight title shot against a seemingly invincible champion in Lyoto Machida. Rua ended up losing to Machida in a highly controversial decision at UFC 104. The UFC booked an immediate rematch and Rua knocked out Machida in the first round.

Rua continued to fight until January 2023, when he retired in the Octagon in Rio de Janeiro after a loss to Ihor Potieria.

He’s already in the UFC Hall of Fame‘s fight wing, thanks to his classic bout against Dan Henderson at UFC 139 in 2011.

He will now enter the modern wing in 2024 along with Wanderlei Silva, Frankie Edgar and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Paulo Costa to Take On Defending Champion Israel Adesanya in UFC Middleweight Title Fight

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Paulo Costa is getting his title chance…

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against the 29-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artiston September 19, according to ESPN.

Paulo Costa

This weekend, Costa tweeted: “The fight is on folks!” News of the fight was first reported by Combate.

The fight, which will take place at UFC 253, doesn’t have a location yet. It probably will take place in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, but the promotion hasn’t finalized those plans just yet because of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said.

Originally, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje was targeted for September 19. Though no official determination has been made regarding that fight, sources say the current plan is to headline the card with Adesanya vs. Costa and then do Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje for the lightweight title later in the fall.

Adesanya (19-0) successfully defended the middleweight title for the first time in March when he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision. That fight was supposed to be against his bitter rival, Costa, however, Costa was forced out of the fight after suffering a torn left biceps.

Costa (13-0), most recently defeated Romero via unanimous decision in August 2019.

The duo have been entangled in a war of words since before Adesanya won the middleweight title in October.

The fight will mark just the second time in UFC history that two undefeated males fight for an undisputed title. The first time was back in 2008 when champion Rashad Evans defended the light heavyweight title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 98.

Souza Defeats Gegard Mousasi in His Quest to Face UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman

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Ronaldo Souza is making the case to battle UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman…

The 34-year old Brazilian Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) dominated Gegard Mousasi in a non-title bout on Friday night to stake his claim to No. 1 contender status.

Ronaldo Souza

Souza (21-3) submitted Mousasi at 4:30 of the third round via a guillotine choke. The middleweight bout headlined a UFC Fight Night event at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut.

A jiu-jitsu black belt, Souza took Mousasi down repeatedly during the 185-pound contest and more than held his own on the feet. He wore Mousasi down from top position in each of the three rounds, eventually leading to the finish.

Immediately after the victory, Souza pointed out he finished Mousasi inside three rounds, while it took Lyoto Machida, who fought Weidman for the title in July, a full five-round fight to dispose of Mousasi via unanimous decision in February.

“If anyone doubted [I’m ready for the title], they are completely wrong,” Souza said. “Lyoto fought this guy for five rounds. I finished him.”

Seeking the 15th submission win of his career, Souza came close to producing a tap late in the round, but Mousasi held on to see the third.

A tired-looking Mousasi managed to land a few straight punches and a left hook to start the third, but he surrendered a takedown 90 seconds in. A right hand caused a welt to form under Mousasi’s right eye and he fell into the guillotine moments later.

For Souza, the win avenges a first-round knockout loss to Mousasi in September 2008. That fight, which took place in Saitama, Japan, ended when Mousasi knocked him out cold with an upkick from his back.

It also improves Souza’s UFC record to 4-0, with three finishes. Weidman (12-0) is scheduled to defend his title for a second time against Vitor Belfort at UFC 181 on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.

Despite the impressive victory, Souza is at least one fight away from a title shot, according to comments made during the postfight news conference by UFC president Dana White.