On crippled legs, a man rose.

Doubted and counted out by the "experts," the man was looked upon and judged to be broken.

Injuries and age were the only battles he could not win. Whispers soon turned into opinions which quickly transformed into "facts." His ascent in a former Pride still revered, but that was history. They said the man who escaped the fires that burned down his former kingdom left much of himself in those ashes.

Busted knees could only take you so far, and for a man once called the best in the world, critics were fast to label him mediocre. And deep in the depths of doubt, a man once known as Shogun could not help but question himself, and his career.

His return cursed by a loss to Griffin, a battle that was supposed to mark his rise in a new land. A match set to alert the field, to put everyone on notice; Shogun was here. However, the sacrifice embarrassed a king, and the only thing put on notice was the fighting career of a champion of old.

What seemed to linger from the defeat were cries pleading for Shogun to retire for the sake of his legacy. It had been decided, he was done.

Slowing down? Perhaps. But done? Never, not even close.

Shogun quickly re-established his dominance. Besting a couple of aging legends, Shogun showed he still had something left. Yet the critics were not satisfied. The wins were looked down upon, neither of his victims given the credit they deserved. And so a former king was once again looking to prove his worth.

Enters the Dragon.

The current king of the division was something to behold. A man who could not be touched, but could inflict damage at will, from any angle. Making quick work of challengers, the Dragon made each opponent look like an amateur. And once again the critics spoke up, they claimed the world was witnessing a new era; they labeled it the Machida Era.

But someone forgot to give Shogun the message.

As an underdog he took the fight to the champion. For five rounds he battered someone who was supposedly impossible to hit. However, it was not enough, despite controlling the battle and inflicting more damage, Shogun was awarded a loss. But his performance was rewarded with an immediate rematch.

And what did Shogun do? He did what he does best, he completely smashed the Dragon. On mended knees, Shogun was once again king. The doubters were silenced. His new kingdom quiet, whispers gone. An old king was given a new crown, and his excellence could no longer be questioned or doubted.

Or so I believed.

Soon rumblings picked up on a young warrior like no other, a boy who tossed around grown men with the same jovial ferocity a cat displays when playing with its' food. A child, in age only, who broke faces with ease of cracking dried leaves. They called him Bones, and he was very well versed in the art of breaking them. And with each opponent Bones destroyed, doubt in the current champion began to develop. The young warrior was seen as a refreshing spring, the champion was labeled the past.

On March 19, 2011, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will take on challenger Jon "Bones" Jones. Rua will be the underdog. Jones is the bigger, lengthier fighter. He should be faster and stronger than Rua.