"Shogun" will be fighting in front of his countrymen on March 11, as he takes on Gian Villante at the UFC Fight Night 107 card in Fortaleza, Brazil, and explains to MMA Fighting why it took so long for him to return to competition after his decision victory over Corey Anderson in May.
"The focus was to fight in Brasilia in September, but I had a little tendinitis that didn’t let me train harder,” Rua said. "It was no big deal, but it was a bit painful. They asked me if I could fight in Sao Paulo (on Nov.