The stakes for this Saturday night’s main event with former UFC light-heavyweight kingpin Mauricio “Shogun” Rua meeting Brandon Vera just got higher.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the news today:
“‘Shogun’ Rua just came off a ‘Fight of the Year’ last year,” said White, referring to Rua’s close decision loss to Dan Henderson in November at UFC 139. “He’s probably one of the best fighters of the last decade. Think about it. This guy knocked out ‘Rampage’ (Jackson), knocked out Chuck Liddell, knocked out Mark Coleman, knocked out Lyoto Machida, knocked out Forrest Griffin, knocked out Alistair Overeem twice, submitted Kevin Randleman. A win vs. [Vera] puts him right back in position, and then he’s probably the No. 2 guy in the world.”
As for Vera, who has only won once in the past two years a victory might not get him right there, but he would definitely be “in the mix” to steal a phrase from the UFC Figurehead.
The real issue with this announcement is that Jones has already dominated both participants, finishing Vera in less than a round with a series of nasty elbows and punishing “Shogun” before finishing him with a series of punches and knees against the cage to capture the 205-pound strap.
