Shogun Rua Planning Two More Fights Before Official MMA Retirement

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari - Zuffa LLC

Former UFC light heavyweight champion, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua still has plans to make the Octagon trip twice more, before he officially calls time on an illustrious career.

Most recently featuring at UFC 255 last November opposite Scottish submission specialist, Paul Craig in a rematch of their November 2019 split draw, Rua tapped to strikes in the second round, suffering his first defeat since July of 2018. The veteran also suffered an elbow injury during his showdown against the Airdrie native. 

The veteran Curitiba fan favourite was expected to potentially hang up his gloves following the defeat to Craig, as he turned 39-years-old just four days following the event, however, he still remains on the promotion's books and is available for selection in the fan's ranking pool.

Speaking with Brazilian outlet, Ag Fight recently, Rua maintains that he wants to make two more Octagon appearances before his tenure in the UFC is over, and then he plans to officially call time on his professional career.

"I must do two more fights and stop," Rua said. "That's my goal. Do one or two more (fights). And the moment I stop -- I will be happy with myself and thankful to God. I'm an accomplished guy with my career. My only fear is to stop and then regret that I stopped a little early. But if I do two more (fights), I won't have this problem (of regret)."

The November outing came as Rua's second of the year after he saw a rescheduled trilogy fight with Antonio Minotouro Nogueira rescheduled for UFC Fight Island 3 in July -- where he managed to improve to 3-0 against his compatriot with a close split decision success.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion and the holder of the 2005 Pride FC middleweight tournament crown, Rua has enjoyed a storied and illustrious career which has seen him compile a professional record of 27-12 -- lodging an eye-catching 21 knockout wins along the way.

Amongst Rua's impressive hit list, we've got the likes of Evangelista Santos, Akihiro Gono, Rampage Jackson, Alistair Overeem (2), Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forest Griffin, Brandon Vera, and Corey Anderson.