When I think of some of the best fighters to come over from PRIDE one of the names that inevitably comes to me first is Mauricio Shogun Rua. Shogun Rua came over from PRIDE with a lot of hype surrounding him — which he should — as he was coming in as their top 205lbs fighter. Sadly, his UFC debut was a bit of a fizzle for fans and it took him a while before he really picked up steam and found himself as the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
In a world with guys like Jon Jones, though, it has become increasingly clear that these “smaller” Light Heavyweights have no room to move in the division, so it looks like Shogun Rua might follow Lyoto Machida to Middleweight in an attempt to bring his career back to life. When asked about moving down, Shogun Rua talked about his next fight against James Te Huna and how it might be his last at Light Heavyweight, but that he’d need to speak with his doctors about him making such a cut down to Middleweight, as he usually walks around at about 230 or so.
I for one would love to see Shogun in a more competitive weight class. [link]