Shogun Rua on Glover Teixeira boxing match: Better outside UFC

Mauricio Shogun Rua believes his boxing match with Glover Teixeira landed on the right platform after all these years.

The former UFC heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight champions will meet in an eight-round heavyweight bout at Spaten Fight Night 3 in Sao Paulo on Aug. 29, and Rua told MMA Fighting he prefers this setup to the UFC matchup that almost happened back in 2012. "I really thought I'd end up fighting Glover in the UFC," he said. "But now we're doing it in boxing, at Spaten, which has already become the biggest event in Brazil. In the end, it was probably better that it didn't happen in the UFC so it could happen at Spaten."

Why the UFC fight never happened in 2012

UFC president Dana White claimed at the time that Rua turned down the Teixeira fight, but Shogun said the matchmaking made no sense for his title aspirations. Teixeira was 1-0 in the promotion while Rua sat in the top five and had been promised another championship opportunity with a win. His team passed on the bout for strategic reasons, not fear. "If it had been a different situation, my team would have accepted it without a doubt," Rua said.

Rua thinks Spaten offers something the UFC cannot — mainstream television exposure on TV Globo in Brazil and an audience outside the hardcore MMA base. "It really gives us much more exposure than we're used to in MMA," he said. The event is funded by one of the world's largest beverage companies and airs on free television, reaching viewers who have never watched combat sports. Rua called it the perfect moment to show the human side of athletes and leave a lasting legacy beyond wins and losses.

Both fighters retired on the same night in January 2023 after losses at a UFC event in Brazil. Rua said he became addicted to weightlifting after hanging up his gloves but felt the pull of competition again. He moved to Curitiba to train under Andre Dida for the boxing contest and expects to weigh in lighter than his current walking weight of 238 pounds. He sees neither man holding an edge in the boxing ring and predicts the fight will end early. "Anyone who knows me knows I'm always looking for the knockout," Rua said. "Glover is the same way."

Rua would not confirm whether the Teixeira fight marks his official retirement but said he believes it will be his last. The two veterans combine for almost 50 UFC appearances and will finally settle their unfinished business on Aug. 29 in Sao Paulo.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Shogun Rua explains why he’s glad to fight Glover Teixeira outside the UFC: ‘It worked out for the best’