UFC ‘Rio’ Draws Shogun-Griffin Rematch

UFC President Dana White confirmed the rumored matchup with MMAFighting.com on Friday. While not officially announced by the promotion, UFC “Rio” is scheduled to go down Aug. 27 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event marks the UFC’s first trip to Brazil since 1998 and will likely be headlined by a middleweight title confrontation between dominant champion Anderson Silva and No. 1 contender Yushin Okami.

Shogun and Griffin first met in 2007 at UFC 76. Entering the UFC after a superior run in Pride Fighting Championships, Rua was heavily favored against Griffin. The original winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” proved the bookmakers wrong, however, as Griffin dominated the bout with his wrestling and cardio. Griffin took his foe’s back in the third frame and cinched a fight-ending rear-naked choke with only 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

Since that bout, both men have won and lost the UFC’s light heavyweight title. Griffin won it in his very next bout, outpointing Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to lift the coveted strap. However, he surrendered the belt in his first defense, succumbing to Rashad Evans at UFC 92. Evans then lost the title to Lyoto Machida, who in turn dropped it to Shogun. Like Griffin, the Brazilian was then defeated in his first defense of the title, as current divisional ruler Jon Jones dominated Rua to snatch the strap away at UFC 128 in March.