Report: Former Champions ‘Rampage’ Jackson, ‘Shogun’ Rua to Meet in 2012

According to a Tuesday evening report by UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, Jackson will lock horns with former Pride Fighting Championships rival Mauricio Rua at a to-be-announced event in 2012.

One of the sport’s most colorful veterans, Jackson, 33, most recently suffered a unanimous decision loss to Ryan Bader at UFC 144 on Feb. 26. After failing to make the contracted 205-pound limit, Jackson revealed that he had suffered a knee injury that prevented him from cutting the required weight and later announced that he had undergone testosterone replacement therapy prior to the contest.

A 12-year pro, Jackson joined the UFC in 2007 following a successful run with Pride in Japan. “Rampage” captured the UFC light heavyweight championship later that year, defending it once successfully before relinquishing the belt to Forrest Griffin in 2008. More recently, Jackson has split his last four bouts, earning wins over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill before falling to new champion Jon Jones to close out 2011.

Another decorated Pride veteran, Rua also signed with the UFC in 2007 but was upset by Griffin in his first Octagon appearance. “Shogun” rebounded from the defeat to win three of his next four fights, capturing the light heavyweight title from Lyoto Machida in the process.

However, the Brazilian would lose his belt to Jones in just his first defense, falling by technical knockout to “Bones” at UFC 128 one year ago. Rua then avenged his loss to Griffin at UFC 134 but came up just short in his epic November showdown with Dan Henderson at UFC 139, losing via close unanimous decision in a “Fight of the Year” nominee.