A month after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee, UFC light-heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is healing well and hoping for a possible return to the Octagon on Superbowl weekend 2011.

"Shogun" left no doubt in anyone's mind who the winner was in his second meeting with former title-holder Lyoto Machida at UFC 113, finishing the reigning champ by way of a spectacular first-round knockout to take the belt. For Rua, it was a validation for all the hard work he had put in since making the transition from his early career triumphs in Japan's defunct Pride promotion to a sometimes rocky road in the UFC.

Unfortunately for "Shogun", his celebration was also tempered by the serious knee injury he suffered during the fight.

"It was precisely on the second takedown where he tried to take down Machida and Machida stuffed it and ended up on top (that the injury occurred)," Rua's manager Eduardo Alonso told Sherdog.com. 

It was not the first injury to Rua's knee. Back in 2007, he suffered a torn ACL that also required surgery when he lost his UFC debut to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76. Then, in 2008, Rua had a follow-up operation to further repair his knee.

"The first time he injured his knee was in training, and maybe from years of training, before the Forrest Griffin fight," Alonso stated. "He opted to fight with the injury and ended up having surgery right after. We don't comment on it very often because we don't like to take anything away from Forrest."

This time "Shogun's" team feels confident that the latest surgery has been a success, and the champ is recovering faster than he did on previous occasions. 

"We had options to do the surgery in many different places, but opted with the UFC's advice to do it in Los Angeles with Dr. Kitvme," said Alonso. "Honestly, I think it's the best decision we've ever made. Shogun is very happy, as he's doing through a great moment in his life with (winning) the belt and the birth of his daughter. Mindset is very important for the recovery process, so we made sure he was comfortable. But he's very anxious because he's such an active guy. He has great genetics, so his recovery is going great. The challenge for us as a team has been to hold him back and make sure he takes his time."

Rua is doing so well, in fact, that Alonso felt confident enough to predict that he would return ahead of the schedule given by UFC president Dana White, who stated earlier this month he expected to see the champ back no sooner than March.

"Off the top of my head, I think of the Superbowl card in February, but this is something that could change depending on his recovery schedule and the UFC's business schedule," Alonso said of Rua's return. "But the way things are going right now, I can tell you that he'll be ready sooner than expected."

With "Shogun's" exact date of return still uncertain, there has been talk of an interim light-heavyweight championship to satisfy top contender Rashad Evans, who defeated Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to earn a title shot at UFC 114. Alonso says Rua will be ready whatever the UFC decides.

"Honestly, we don't mind talk of interim titles, because this is the UFC's decision and not ours," Alonso said. "Shogun has the belt and it means a lot to him and he's the...