Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is currently recuperating from an injury he suffered during a training session not too long ago. His fight against Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell was canceled due to that injury, but he is looking forward to fight in the UFC cage as soon as he is recovered 100%.
The Iceman was scheduled to fight Rashad Evans as his new opponent, but he too suffered a hamstring injury that forced him off that UFC 85 fight card as well. Both men are recovering slowly, yet effectively. We stated a while back when Liddell injured his leg that it would be possible for both of these superb light heavyweight contenders to fight as originally planned.
Shogun was interviewed by graciemag.com and he states that he wants to fight the Iceman as it was first scheduled. He respects Liddell, but feels that a win over him could help gain back the recognition he had prior to his loss against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76:Knockout.
Here’s what Shogun had to say about Liddell:
“I’ve been lifting weights, doing physiotherapy and swimming every day. My physiotherapist has cleared me to do some light boxing next week, but as I’m going to travel with my brother to catch his fight in Hawaii three weeks from now, I decided only to return to training after the trip…I respect him (Chuck Liddell) a lot as a fighter and I think he, besides being a warrior, is top of the category. I’ve been watching him since I started fighting. My fans can be sure I’ll be back at 100%. I’d like for him to wait and fight me at the end of the year. If I could choose who I’d fight on my return, it would be him, for sure, and I hope he accepts.”
