Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira Only Has a Few Fights Left in MMA

Former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion and former Pride Heavyweight Champion, Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira  only has three fights left on his current UFC contract and anticipates his retirement will occur within the next two or three years.  Right now Nogueira doesn't have an opponent set for his next fight.  His last fight was a loss to fellow heavyweight submission expert, Fabricio Werdum in June of 2013.

'Minotauro' is one of the sport's pioneers and like many of the pioneers, he is coming to the point in which he needs to hang up the gloves.  I am glad that Nogueira is getting out of the sport shortly and not trying to hold on too long especially considering he will not be fighting for the title ever again.  Chuck Liddell was a great warrior who stuck around too long and it slightly took away from his legacy by getting knocked out by Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua and Rich Franklin consecutively.  It is good that Nogueira is smart enough to know that he is on the downside and is smart to get out without tarnishing his legacy with even more losses.

Rumor: Shogun and Hendo Throwing Down Again?

Where were you at on November 19, 2011? If you were a UFC fan and ordered UFC 139, it is a night that you will never forget.  It was a night that put together two of PRIDE FC's greatest and most popular brawlers to meet for the first time in their careers.  It was a match up that should have happened in Pride, but eventually played out in the UFC's 205 lb weight class.  Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua went to complete war for 25 of the best minutes in UFC and MMA history on that night.  Below is a highlight video with only a mere few minutes of the action from that night:

For the full video be sure to order the DVD or subscribe to UFC Fight Pass when the full library is released.  It is a must-see for any fan of the two of these MMA legends or anyone who wants to see a beautiful slugfest.  It is being rumored now according to Tatame.com, that the two men will be squaring off against each other for a second time. Nothing has been confirmed by the UFC so far.

The first fight was an awesome fight, but I don't know if a second fight would happen considering Dan Henderson is having contract issues with the UFC right now.  A part of me would be interested to see this fight just to see if the Mauricio "Shogun" Rua that beat James Te Huna would be able to beat Henderson this time around.  I can't believe I would even say this, but I believe that if Shogun vs Hendo II occurred that Shogun would take the rematch. Not because Rua is better than Henderson or more elite than Henderson, but based on the fact that I think that Henderson's time as top dog are over.  Henderson is on his way out the door in his career. No matter how much respect and admiration I have for Henderson, I think that is time for him to call it quits.  He is (1-3) since he left Strikeforce to return to the UFC.

Would you watch a rematch between Henderson and Rua

Yes

No

Maybe

Only if it's a free fight

Poll Maker

Shogun at Middleweight

Maurico Rua is considering a future in the UFC's Middleweight Division if he were to lose his match at UFC Fight Night 33 this Saturday against James Te Huna in Australia.  Former UFC Light Heavyweight and Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua thinks that a loss at UFC Fight Night would be what would push him to go to 185 lbs after many have felt that he already needed to be there.

Shogun Rua is 5-6 in the UFC and hasn't completely lived up the hype that he built as he was coming over from Pride FC.  He came into the Octagon with notable wins over men such as Alistair Overeem, Akihiro Gono, Cyrille Diabate, Quinton Rampage Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ricardo Arona and Kevin Randleman.  He was a man on a path of destruction who had a bright future in the UFC.  Shogun eventually went on to take the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Lyoto Machida by way of knockout.  Rua was unable to defend his belt as his first title defense was against a man named Jon Jones who would take the title from Rua and set a new record for the most UFC Light Heavyweight title defenses.

After losing the title to Jon Jones, Rua was never able to truly bounce back from the defeat. He went on to TKO Forrest Griffin in his next match, but would go 1-3 after the Griffin fight.  Shogun has looked terrible in his last two fights which he lost to Jon Jones' last two title challengers, Chael Sonnen and Alexander Gustafsson.  I feel that a move to Middleweight would be very beneficial to the former champ.  I think that Rua has the ability to make 185 lbs considering that he doesn't carry around a lot of muscle like some of the other guys who compete at 205.  We will just have to see what happens at UFC Fight Night 33 to see what Rua's fate will be.  I think he should make the cut down to Middleweight no matter the outcome.

Should Mauricio Shogun Rua make the move to Middleweight?--Tough Spar MMA

Yes, it would be a smart move

No, he belongs at Light Heavyweight

He needs to be cut from the UFC if he loses two Te Huna

Other

Please Specify:

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Vitor Belfort Set to face Dan Henderson at 205

It has been announced by the UFC that Vitor Belfort will be facing Dan Henderson in the Light Heavyweight Division on November 9th.  This is coming after Vitor has stated that he would not fight Tim Kennedy or any other Middleweight in the UFC unless if it was for the UFC Middleweight Championship.  The two fighters originally fought in PRIDE in 2006 with Henderson scoring a unanimous decision.  It was rumored that he might be facing off with Lyoto Machida, who will be facing Tim Kennedy soon as the main event of UFC Fight for the Troops 3.

Dan Henderson is coming off of consecutive decision losses to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.  This is a must-win fight for Dan Henderson.  I think Henderson has the ability to win this fight as long as he goes in with a a tactical approach to the fight.  Vitor Belfort who is coming off of two consecutive knockout wins over Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. He will finally get the opportunity to face someone in the UFC who possess as much one-punch knockout power as he has.  I think the UFC is putting together yet another crowd pleasing fight for the fans.  I don't agree with the fact that the UFC is letting Vitor Belfort play the diva in the middleweight division and letting him choose who he will and won't fight.  Belfort must remember that he is an employee and not the employer.