Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua hasn’t competed since defeating Gian Villante by TKO at UFC Fight Night 106.
With a three fight winning streak pushing him forward, the Brazilian would love to fight former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.
"I would be thrilled to accept a fight against Anderson Silva, but not in Rio. There's only a few weeks to go before UFC 212 and I'm not psychologically ready to do a fight camp right now. If I had two months to train, then yes, I would. I really respect Anderson as an athlete, he's a guy who deserves my respect, but I'd fight him. I'm a professional, above all things,” Rua said to Tatame.
Silva is still scheduled to fight at UFC 212, but has no opponent at the moment after Kelvin Gastelum was pulled following a potential USADA violation.
Another fighter Rua wouldn’t mind fighting is Ovince St. Preux, who previously defeated him in the main event of UFC Fight Night 56.
"I don't have any specific names on my mind, but I have a loss against Ovince Saint Preux that's been bugging me ever since. I think he's a good fighter, an icon, and he deserves all my respect. He's big for the division, but the way I lost against him left me very sad. I'm not saying I'm better or worse than him, I was sad with the way it was. So I would like a rematch against Saint Preux in the near future, yes,” says Rua.
The loss to OSP at UFC Fight Night 56 was the last defeat that Rua suffered before starting his three fight winning streak. That loss occurred almost three years ago.
