UFC 134 Rio Video: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua On a Quest for the Belt

Having gone 3-3 in his last six fights, the most recent being a dismantling by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was once one of the most dominant 205-pound fighters on the planet.

Shogun started his career with a 16-2 record, winning the 16-man Pride Middleweight Grand Prix along the way. He has defeated the likes of Alistair Overeem, twice, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Chuck Liddell, and Lyoto Machida; the last of which also put the UFC title around his waist, if briefly.

More than ready to eradicate the memories from the Jones fight in everyone’s mind, chiefly his own, Shogun has called upon his past to help secure his future.

“I’m focused on Forrest, but my dream is to become UFC champion again,” Shogun said in a recent UFC prefight interview, referring to his UFC 134 Rio opponent, Forrest Griffin.

To make sure he gets past Griffin and back on track to UFC gold, Shogun has been training under the guidance of the man who taught him in the beginning, master Rafael Cordeiro, and working alongside fighters such as Wanderlei Silva, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Mark Munoz, and others.

Check out the UFC’s prefight interview with Shogun as he prepares for Saturday’s fight with Forrest…