December 31st, 2006. That was the last time that Mauricio Rua fought in Japan. ‘Shogun’ – as he’s more often known – defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura at Pride SHockwave 2006. He would compete once more for the legendary promotion, defeating Alistair Overeem by KO at Pride 33 in Las Vegas, before making the jump to the UFC.
Since then, he’s become a staple for the now WME-IMG promotion’s Brazilian fight cards, having only fought in his home country since 2014. And while fans may not have been eagerly anticipating his rematch against Ovince St.