Mauricio "Shogun" Rua pain free after knee surgery, training wrestling to prepare for Evans
by Jason Benfari on January 10, 2011

"I'm not feeling any pain in my knee and my doctor said I could fully return to my trainings, so I'm training as I always did, super-confident and if God helps me, I'll be prepared on March 19. Rashad's a very tough guy, he's a good wrestler and boxer, actually he is a guy I consider complete, and I believe he'll try to use his boxing skills on me, or will try to take me down and use his ground and pound, so I'm training much Wrestling and Muay Thai. He's tough and I have to train all modalities." -Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

After undergoing yet another knee surgery, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua declares himself pain free and confident going into training camp for his first UFC light heavyweight title fight against former champ Rashad Evans. 

Rua (19-4), long considered the greatest light heavyweight in the world, made his UFC debut in 2008 against Forrest Griffin. He entered the fight a significant favorite, but looked like a shell of the man who wreaked havoc on the Pride light heavyweight division and was dispatched off via rear-naked choke in the third.

After the fight it was revealed that Rua had suffered a knee injury in training and reinjured the knee during the contest. Rua subsequently underwent surgery to repair the damaged knee and looked very sloppy in his next outing against Mark Coleman, barely managing a win against the semi-retired 44-year-old. 

He suffered another injury training for his next fight against Chuck Liddell and again underwent surgery putting him out of action for almost a year, but he came back strong against Liddell, earning a first-round knockout, and was brilliant in consecutive fights against former champion Lyoto Machida from whom he earned the UFC light heavyweight title. 

Rua has again taken his time coming back from his June surgery, but as he gets older it's unclear if he can continue to comeback strong from these knee injuries. His explosive style seems heavily reliant on a solid base so there will be major questions when he steps in against Evans at UFC 128.

 |  (20) Comments Lay'n'PrayNINJA: Good news so far. Let see him defend his belt now. Tough test, but if his knees hold up, he should be able to dispatch Suga with ease. D_V: The Rua quote must have been translated from Portuguese. I kind of laugh at the idea that he said modalities. IwishIwasMMA: If Shogun is healthy and fit for five rounds, Rashad wont make it to the title rounds. Marker28: The excuse door will always be open for Shogun, if you count the number of surgeries and broken bones that Rua and Wand had together that would be close to double figures. Wandering_Minstrel: Hopefully, Shogun won't have anymore knee troubles. That's doubtful, though, after he plants 20 of them in Rashad's face... GO HARD: i think Rashad wins this. mike5k: I think Evans will try his luck on the mat. He got his lights put out by Machida who had his lights put out by Rua. We try not to do mma math around here but when it comes to getting concussions, smart fighters to it to an extent. For the record, I think he's in trouble either way. GO HARD: we will see. Tonika Fatale: Thats good to hear i can't wait to see him fight again an Rashad is good opponent;) GO HARD: people get so caught up in a fighter that they over do it to themselves. they start talking to other people that like the same fighters and they pump eachother up and make eachother believe that their fighter cant lose. ive done it with andy... fact is everybody can lose. fact is we havent seen shogun look great in all his fights. people say oh the old shogun... have u ever thought that maybe he is inconsistant?? im just saying. Rashad CAN win this... i hope he doesnt, but im picking him just cuz ill look genious if it does happen. q; D Mickey knox: Shogun will finish Evans, as per my prediction. Rashad is a damn good fighter, there's a reason he's a top LHW, BUT from what we've seen he's not exactly a cardio machine, so he'd better be looking to finish Rua within the first two rounds, cause if he plans on grinding this whole fight, it's gonna be all downhill for him after the start of the thrid.
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!