Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vill ha returmatch mot Ovince St Preux i Japan

Mauricio ”Shogun” Rua har för första gången sedan sin debut i UFC en vinstsvit på tre matcher. Nu hoppas den forne lätta tungviktsmästaren utöka sviten till fyra vinster – mot Ovince Saint Preux, som knockade honom efter bara 34 sekunder senaste gången de möttes. Shogun hoppas också få gå mötet mot ”OSP” i Japan, landet som gjorde honom till en stjärna under Pride-dagarna.

”I fought in March. I spoke to my team and we would like to come back in September. There’s a Japan card coming up and I have a lot of love for that country and its people. I think it would be nice to fight there again. My focus is to be there for the main or co-main event spot, it doesn’t matter. What matters the most is to be on that card. I have great memories of Japan. The energy there is good. If it all works out, I’ll fight at the Saitama Super Arena, where I was world champion. It’s a place of good memories and good energy,” säger Shogun till Combate.

”I have a lot of respect for Ovince Saint Preux, who’s a guy that beat me. It’s a fight I would like to do again. Maybe I’ll fight him in Japan? I’m available for him. I don’t really think too much about where I am in the division. We’ll have Daniel Cormier fighting Jon Jones, and there’s Alexander Gustafsson, who I think is up next for a title shot. Then there’s Manuwa, who fights in July.”

Mauricio ”Shogun” Rua vill ha en returmatch mot Ovince St Preux (bilden) i Japan. Foto: Mazdak Cavian

Drömmer fortfarande om bältet

Shogun knockade Gian Villante i sin senaste match. Dessförinnan besegrade han både Corey Anderson och Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via domslut. Hans senaste förlust var mot OSP i november 2014 – och han har fortfarande inte gett upp drömmarna om att återta bältet han förlorade mot Jon Jones på UFC 128 den 19 mars 2011.

“I prefer to think about one fight at a time. If I think about what comes after, I don’t focus on the fight at hand. I talk from experience. I know that because I’m a former champion who’s been around for so many years = the title shot can come sooner than I imagine. If it does, I’ll be super happy. I see each fight as a dream. The belt is my greatest dream,” säger Shogun.