Shogun Rua At UFC 76

If you're a fan of mixed martial arts and you don't know who Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is yet, you will soon. Shogun makes his UFC debut at UFC 76 on September 22nd where he faces a worthy opponent in Forrest Griffin. Don't be fooled by the debut part though, Shogun is a seasoned veteran ready to make a run at the UFC light heavyweight title, currently held by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Mauricio Rua sports a mixed martial arts record of sixteen wins and two losses. Those losses coming at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight contender Renalto "Babalu" Sobral when Rua was still just learning the MMA game and a loss to a much larger Mark Coleman who slammed Rua and broke his arm. Shogun considers his loss to Babalu as his only real loss and says the other was just a freak accident.

In the win category, Mauricio Rua has some impressive credentials, including a win over current UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson. A fight which Shogun dominated and easily won by first round KO. In fact, if you want to get an idea of Shogun's real talents, that's a good fight to watch. It displays his aggression, strength and agility. Shogun starts at the bell and doesn't stop until his opponent has quit or is knocked out.

Mauricio Rua also has wins over other notable light heavyweight fighters like Alistair Overeem (actually, 2 wins) and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. He also holds a first round submission victory over former UFC champion Kevin Randleman. While these victories are all impressive and against top level talent, it is his win over Ricardo Arona which stands out. You see, Shogun defeated Ricardo Arona to win the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix tournament. In fact, his run at the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix is one of the most impressive win streaks in all of MMA with wins over Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona; all in a row and the last two on the same night. It's important to note that Quinton Jackson holds two victories over former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and Ricardo Arona had just defeated former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva.

The UFC will be a new experience for Shogun who will need to learn to use elbows instead of stomps and soccer kicks on downed opponents. Rua will also need to get used to fighting in a cage. Shogun has some cage experience, but the majority of his career has been in the Pride organization where a ring is used. Assuming that Shogun can adjust to the rule differences there is no limit to what he can achieve in the UFC. His fighting style is agressive and fan pleasing. He fights to win, not to not loose. He always goes for the submission or knock out. This style sometimes gets him into trouble, but he always seems to find his way out. If he gets past his first test against Forrest Griffin I expect that he will be offered a title shot against the winner of Quinton Jackson and Dan Henderson, on September 8th, or at least a shot at one of the UFC's top three light heavyweight contenders.

I believe that Mauricio Shogun Rua is just too good to be denied a UFC belt for long. He already has a big decisive win over the current belt holder and a rematch, if Jackson wins over Hendo, seems inevitable. One thing though, I don't expect Shogun to hold the belt for long, his wild, reckless style will catch up to him eventually and he will get caught. He will, however be at the top of the UFC light heavyweight division for the foreseeable future.

Jon is the editor and main contributer at UFC Results, a martial arts fan site and the best place to find UFC 76 Results and UFC 76 Predictions