"Shogun" Rua's next fight may still be one of the many fights left for the Brazilian fighter, as the former UFC light heavyweight champion has maintained that he is not hanging up his gloves any time soon. The PRIDE FC legend also affirmed that he is still looking for MMA success, despite his family's request for him to finally retire.
"Shogun" Rua's next fight will be against 205-pound contender Jimi Manuwa as the headline bout for UFC Fight Night 56. The event will be held in Rua's home country of Brazil, on November 8th.
At 32-years of age, the former PRIDE FC middleweight legend has remained to be one of the most respected figures in mixed martial arts today. While he did lose three of his five last fights, "Shogun" has revealed that he still aspires to make another run for light heavyweight gold.
"I think so. But I'm not thinking about title shot right now," Rua said in a previous interview with Combate. "My attention is fully turned to Jimi Manuwa. What comes after that will be a consequence."
It seems like Shogun Rua's next fight will not be one of the last ones, as the Brazilian fighter himself revealed in his interview with FOX Sports early this week.
"It (retirement) never really crossed my mind," Rua said. "Much to the contrary, I was always planning on continuing to fight. If I'm the guy going in there fighting and I'm happy doing it and the UFC is the promotion that hires and promotes my fights and they are happy with having me on the show, then why would I stop fighting? It doesn't make much sense. It never really crossed my mind."
Last month, "Shogun" revealed his mother's requests for him to retire, which he expectedly ignored. He once again affirmed his stance on the matter, adding that the calls for retirement are not hindering him from his goal to achieve further success.
"It doesn't really bother me or hinder me in any way," he explained. My mom and my wife, they don't really understand much about fighting, and they're naturally worried with my well-being, with my health and everything."
"I know what I'm doing," he continued. "It's part of the game, and my family is being my family."
