(Rua slugs Dan Henderson during their epic bout in November. / Photo courtesy of Heavy)

A matchup between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva is likely for July 21st’s UFC 149 event in Calgary, according to a new report on MMA Junkie. UFC president Dana White tweeted yesterday that the two light-heavyweight strikers would face one another, but didn’t confirm the date or venue.

Silva is coming off of a one-year suspension and a decision loss to Alexander Gustafsson. Winless since his 2009 knockout of Keith Jardine, Silva’s contract may very well be on the line here. Shogun’s last bout, a five-round war/decision loss to Dan Henderson, was widely considered to be the greatest fight in MMA history until this past weekend.

(If it isn’t my old nemesis, “The Knee.” Come to finish me off, have you?)

Well this is interesting. Coming off a razor thin decision loss in a Fight of the Year candidate match with Dan Henderson at UFC 139, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is looking to get back in the 205 lb mix. With many of the division’s elite already tied up in their own fights, the former UFC Light Heavyweight champ finds himself in a difficult position in terms of matchmaking. But according to Rua, there is one specific fight he has his eyes set on, and it’s not the one you would think. Here’s what he recently told Tatame.com:

The fight against Rampage will happen eventually. It’s inevitable and UFC knows it. He won’t retire before fighting me and neither am I (laughs).

(“Who wants some?”)

When it was announced yesterday that Mike Kyle sustained an injury, forcing him out of his planned Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey main card bout with Gegard Mousasi, speculation arose that Mousasi would likely be scratched from the event. If the UFC brass would sign off on a crossover bout between Gegard and one of its fighters, the fight could be salvaged and Mousasi could get an upgrade opponent in the process.

Check out who we’d like to see step up on three week’s notice to take on “The Dreamcatcher.”

(Video courtesy of UStream/MMAFightCornerRadio)

Forrest Griffin was on MMA Fight Corner Radio this weekend and when asked whether or not he would entertain a third fight with Tito Ortiz, the former UFC light heavyweight champ didn’t hesitate in answering.

“If people would pay to see that fight, I’ll get paid to fight that fight,” Griffin said. “I care more about where the fight is; I don’t travel well. If that fight [with Tito] happens in the continental United States, I’m down.”

“I hate to have to tell you this, Mr. Bailey, but you’ve got a severe case of liveblog. It won’t be long now.” (Photo: UFC.com)

The good news: you’re all but guaranteed more than sixty-four seconds of action this evening. The bad news: you’re going to have to pay for it.

Nothing in life is free, not even punches to the face. Take Dan Henderson, for example. “Hollywood” was once considered too costly of an investment for the UFC, but after an impressive three-fight win streak he was deemed too valuable for Strikeforce. Tonight he makes his return to the Octagon after a two year hiatus. Does old Hendo have enough gas in the tank for one more title run, or will the “old” Shogun show up and ruin his homecoming.

Though he may not have the cleavage to warrant video commentary, weekend editor Chris Colemon does possess the sort of typing skills that get you beat up by jocks in high school. Come join him inside for the best play-by-play coverage you’ll see on this site tonight.

Just a friendly reminder that the pre-UFC 139 presser starts at 4:00 pm ET today, and as usual we will have the live video feed for you here.

It looks like former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be getting his wish. Multiple reports confirm that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and “Shogun” have verbally agreed to face one another, likely as the main event of UFC 139.

The originally penned headliner for this event, a heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, was moved to the UFC’s debut on Fox, which takes place Nov 12th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. I think it’s safe to say that this will be a fair replacement; Rua’s last 5 wins have come by knockout, whereas “Hendo’s” last 4 wins have ended in similarly decisive fashion, the most recent being a first round knock out of former Pride heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAInterviews.tv)

MMAInterviews.tv caught up with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua recently and had a chance to get the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s thought on a few subjects including his UFC 134 win over Forrest Griffin, a possible fight with Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson and who he would like to face if given the choice.

Shogun answered the questions himself utilizing his ever-improving English language skills, which he should be applauded for considering learning a completely different language than your native tongue is very difficult (ask Tito how hard it was to learn interview questions) and it will make him more marketable to those of us who aren’t old PRIDE fans.

Check out the transcription of the interview after the jump.

(All in favor of seeing Anderson attempt to improve his moneyweight record, say ‘I.’”)

Since Anderson Silva has effectively cleared out the UFC’s middleweight division and will likely eventually start a string of rematches against the likes of Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson, we figured why not come up with a list of fights he could take in the interim that stoke the fires of fans.

Check them out, in no particular order after the jump.

By Jason Moles

After a spectacular night of fights at UFC 134 in Rio, we’re going to try to make sense of it with a little game called ‘Buy, Sell, or Hold’. I’ll take a fighter and either buy, sell, or hold him like a stockbroker would. (It’s kind of like the real stock market, except you won’t want to throw yourself off a building afterwards.) Take my advice and you’ll end up with a nice MMA portfolio. Without further ado…

Anderson Silva: Buy! Buy! Buy!

‘The Spider‘ has everything you’d want from a blue chip stock: an x-factor that makes people want to see him fight, major corporate sponsors, and hilarious commercials. Oh yeah, and his fighting isn’t that bad either. Silva’s complete and utter domination of Yushin Okami at UFC 134 just reinforces what we already knew — we are witnessing the greatest fighter of all time every time he steps inside the Octagon™.

Yushin Okami: Dump it like your autographed picture of Carrot Top.

He is currently ranked as the #3 best Middleweight and yet it seems all for naught. Okami showed up to a gunfight with a pair of flip-flops and a bag of Skittles against Silva. Despite working with the only man to dominate the champion, he never once came close to showing a spark in Brazil. I have a feeling he’ll face the same fate as Jon Fitch while his stock becomes more cursed than Monster.

(Is there anyone who dislikes Shogun?)

In a blog posting he made today on ESPN.com, former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua spoke for the first time about what he feels led to him losing his belt to Jon Jones at UFC 128 in March.

In spite of insinuations that his knee was bothering him and that he didn’t train properly for the bout as he seemed out of shape, Rua says it was simply a case of having a bad night and the fight not going his way.

“Really, in the Jones fight, what happened was I got hurt early on and I was having some trouble finding the right distance in the fight. I was also getting tired, and throwing leg kicks spends a lot of energy which is why I didn’t throw so many of them, and there was also the risk of being taken down; it was a combination of factors which stopped me from performing at my best,” he explained. “But whatever I did wrong in training for that fight, it doesn’t take Jones’s merits away and he was the better fighter that night. Some people think I was out of shape and are worried about my knees still being hurt after I had so much trouble with them. That isn’t the case — there’s nothing wrong with my knees, and they were 100 percent ready for that fight, as it was all cleared by the doctor. We made the biggest effort in doing my rehab as perfectly as possible and the UFC was kind enough to let me come back on a date that was proper to do it, according to the doctors. I have no injury excuses.”

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ESPN)

For all of us who thought Georges St-Pierre might be in a bit of trouble if and when he decides to move up to middleweight, check this video out.

St-Pierre appeared on the latest edition of ESPN’s Sport Science to have the force of his punches, kicks and takedowns measured and the results were astounding.

(“Screw what I said about business as usual. Let’s make some fan-fucking-tastic fights for this card.”)

With the UFC’s landmark Rio card fast approaching, we thought we’d sit down and think about a handful of bouts we as fans (and pseudo-reporters) would REALLY like to see added to the card.

(We’re looking at you Royce. Seriously. Walk away, dude.)

Check out what we came up with after the jump.

(Either someone’s getting knocked the f*ck out, or someone’s getting decisioned into a living death.)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will finally get his chance to settle the score with Forrest Griffin this summer.

A rematch of their September 2007 UFC 76 bout has reportedly been signed for UFC Rio in August.

GracieMag.com was the first to report the potential match-up that was confirmed with UFC president Dana White today by MMAFighting.com.

(“Your numbers are a little weak in the swing states, Jon. We’d like you to consider wearing this American flag pin.” Pic: ESPN)

Even as MMA hardcores continue to cream their collective jeans over the unbelievable awesomeness of new light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, early estimates indicate UFC 128 didn’t quite live up to expectations in the sales department. Stalwart fight journalist (and the kind of dude who keeps track of this stuff) Dave Meltzer reports his numbers show Saturday night’s pay-per-view notching between 415,000-470,000 buys, which puts it pretty much exactly on the nose of the UFC’s “average” buy rate of 445K. What’s that mean exactly? Well, to borrow a phrase from Scott Coker, it means UFC 128 didn’t really “move the needle” with casual fans.

Naturally, some of the people who get paid to have opinions about this kind of thing (dudes like us) will see this as a failure on the part of Jones himself. After all, the UFC did everything it could to market this PPV behind the 23-year-old phenom, including both a “Countdown” special and the heretofore unseen “In the Moment” documentary on SpikeTV. To this notion, we’d like to say: Not so fast. Even as a website that’s occasionally been quasi-critical of the sport’s new Christ figure, we think it’s pretty unfair to hang this particular PPV’s disappointing showing on Jones. Don’t forget that he didn’t become a full-on breakout superstar until AFTER he crushed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to win the strap, you guys.

Rua practically gazing into a mirror.

No matter who you’re rooting for at UFC 128, you’re all but guaranteed an exciting night of fights that have the potential to launch some careers and end others. Luckily for lazy writers everywhere, many of the bouts line up perfectly with tried and true analysis that’s been written a hundred times before. Here’s a half-hearted breakdown of tonight’s action, joined by your blisteringly accurate predictions in the comments section.

Jon Jones force feeding his destiny to Brandon Vera.

It’s crazy that so many people are looking past champion Mauricio Rua, fully anointing Jon Jones the future of the light heavyweight division before they even step in the cage. Crazy, but kind of understandable. Jones is incredibly athletic, innovative, and unpredictable, and it looks like he has all of the physical tools to take out anyone in his path. The bookmakers know it, and it’s become painfully obvious over the last couple of weeks that “Bones” does as well.

Jones has displayed no shortage of confidence in recent interviews, stating that he’s already won the fight and that he’s currently signing autographs as “Champ 2011”, leading some to question whether he’s lost touch with reality. Hearing Jones—who’s greatest accomplishment in the sport to date was his recent victory over Ryan Bader—already discussing his legacy and the impact he wants to make on the world is enough to make you question if he is really focused on the task at hand or if he’s taking his opponent too lightly and setting himself up for failure. Believing in yourself is a must to succeed in this sport, but can Jones’s over-abundance of self-confidence actually work against him in this fight? Hell if I know. That’s why I got in touch with Brian Cain, the famed sports psychologist who has worked with MMA standouts like Georges St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, and Rich Franklin. My feeble attempts at arm-chair psychology and Cain’s insightful answers await you after the jump.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WandFightTeam)

Trainer Rafael Cordeiro and Wanderlei Silva spoke this week about the impending tilt between UFC light heavyweight champion and their former Chuteboxe teammate Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and challenger Jon Jones.

According to Wand, the fight will likely be the first of several for the pair, but he feels that Shogun will take the bout via leglock.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/BadBoy)

Here’s a video for all of you members of the Potato Nation who have Mauricio “Shogun” Rua counted out of his first UFC light heavyweight title defense this weekend against Zuffa hypemonster, Jon Jones.

Shogun’s camp seems to be pretty convinced that Jones is going to want none of Rua standing, and as such, have focused training largely on what they’re going to do when “Bones” inevitably takes the fight to the canvas. It’s interesting to note that although Rua only picked up one of his 19 wins by submission, he has been a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for six years — three years longer than Jones has been training in mixed martial arts.

(Video courtesy of Zuffa LLC)

Jon Jones has a lot of hype to live up to heading into his light heavyweight title fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua this weekend and a lion’s share of it is being perpetuated by his own camp.

Coach Greg Jackson says seeing Jones fight is like seeing a Picasso compared to every other run-of-the-mill painting. Boxing trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that comparisons between his charge and Muhammed Ali are well-deserved and similar greatness is in Jones’ destiny. Teammate Clay Guida calls him a super hero action figure-esque fighter.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFCFightZone1/ZuffaLLC)

If you really can’t wait until the UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones countdown show is on tomorrow night, we’ve got you covered with part one of the program above.

For those of you who can’t watch the video at work and want the Cliffs Notes version, here’s what “Bones” and “Shogun” had to say about their light heavyweight title fight Saturday night.

(We just can’t stay mad at this guy. PicProps: MMA Space)
Not to distract you from your busy morning of eulogizing Fedor Emelianenko, but we feel compelled to remind everyone that Scott Coker isn’t the only MMA impresario who woke up Monday with a pounding headache. Remember that when we left the UFC last Friday, the butterfly effect from Rashad Evans’ knee injury was causing near-seismic shifts in the vaunted light heavyweight division? Yeah, we don’t think that got solved over the weekend.

Let’s see if we can get this goddamned soap opera straight: Evans tweaked his knee a couple weeks ago and instead of pushing his scheduled title bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua back a few months to give Rashad time to rehab, Dana White took a flamethrower to the entire 205-pound title picture. In one fell swoop he gave Evans’ title shot to Jon Jones, pulled Quinton “Rampage” Jackson out of a scheduled fight with Thiago Silva at UFC 130 and quashed entirely the idea of having Matt Hamill fight Phil Davis at UFC 129. Smooth move, guy. Now the matchup merry-go-round is whirling out of control and everybody is pissed.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/wallenrichard)

Tatame is reporting that Jon Jones was not the UFC’s first choice as Mauricio "Shogun" Rua’s replacement opponent for UFC 128. According to the UFC light heavyweight champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was offered the title shot in place Rashad Evans, who injured his knee training last week in Albuquerque, but the A-Team star declined the fight for undisclosed reasons.

“The UFC had another opponent in mind, but it didn’t work out. For some reason [Qinton Jackson] didn’t accept the title shot," Shogun explained. “I’ll have to change my training because [Jon Jones] is a lot different than Rashad. He’s much taller, which will present a great challenge. He’s been surprising everybody in the UFC — defeating everybody with ease, and it’ll be a tough fight for me."

"Smell it!"

Maybe Rampage is still waking up in cold sweats from the recurring nightmare of getting his head soccer-kicked into the fifth row by Shogun.

(Video courtesy YouTube/JacksonsMMAMedia)

When he’s not employing his other favorite alternative training method, Rashad Evans is Jedi mind tricks to manipulate matter, proving that there’s something to the rumor that Greg Jackson really is Yoda-like.

Rashad took time out from training for his upcoming UFC 128 showdown with UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to work on improving his brain activity using the Star Wars "Force Trainer."

According to the manufacturer, "the toy uses EEG technology to transmit your alpha and beta brainwaves from a head set to wirelessly drive a motor which powers a fan that sends a sphere up a tower." Hopefully for Rashad’s sake it will help protect his brain from a head kick KO or maybe he will be able to do what Lyoto Machida did at UFC 104 and convince the judges that Shogun is not the fighter who they thought won the fight. 

(Video courtesy YouTube/nathanmarquardt)

It looks like Rashad Evans has taken a page out of number one UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard’s training manual to get ready for his upcoming light heavyweight  championship bout with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.